


Christmastime

by VelvetSky



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Christmas Shopping, Decorating the Tree, F/M, Snow, set in an idyllic post Thanos world, where they win and everyone lives except Thanos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-22 18:50:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17065184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VelvetSky/pseuds/VelvetSky
Summary: It is Christmastime at the Compound after what could be called the year from hell for the Avengers. They finally get to relax and have a nice holiday.





	1. Santa Baby

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Darcyland Christmas Week 2018. A DARCY LEWIS HOLIDAY CHALLENGE! Hosted by @grimeysociety. 
> 
> Each chapter will be a prompt and they will all string together into one big story. (Hopefully, I'll get them all done somewhat in time, or at least before the New Year *fingers crossed* I'm still working on Day two right now.)
> 
> December 19th, Day 1: Santa Baby
> 
> Thanks to Inulvr333 for brainstorming some ideas with me! :)  
> Thanks to GirlRedRanger for an early read over when I was stalled. :)  
> Thanks to Catemonsterq for helping me sort out a scene I wasn't sure about. :)  
> Otherwise, unbetaed, so any mess is mine.

Thanksgiving had been subdued, but nice, at Avengers Compound. The year had been a trying one for the team, but they managed to come out of it stronger, and everyone felt they had a lot to be thankful for. Rifts that had grown had been mended and everyone simply wanted to embrace those they thought they may have lost. The Compound was technically fuller than ever with new team members and friends along with a new wave of love and appreciation from the general public.

Darcy had found herself in charge of it, but everyone seemed to pitch in where they could. While she was still aiding Jane's work, Darcy had also been pulled into working as a sort of aid at large to the Compound, handling whatever tasks anyone needed help with. It also included some public relations and general management of the compound, so it seemed only logical that she spearhead holiday events. Wanda had been invaluable in helping with the bulk of the cooking, but many hands were willing to help stir things and wash things and peel things. They'd set up a big table in the common area and had a nice dinner, just the team and those close to their circle.

The plan was to make the whole holiday season be more of that same feeling. The Sunday after Thanksgiving Darcy had brought in a tree, that Thor had helped her collect from a tree farm where they could cut it down fresh themselves, and set it up in the common lounge. They'd gone out early in the morning, so the tree was just getting propped up around the time most of the Avengers were wandering out of their rooms for the day. Darcy had pulled out a cute, perhaps slightly sexy, Santa outfit she hadn't worn since college to wear while decorating. It seemed like a nice way to get the right spirit going. She hoped if she got started with the tree trimming, others would perhaps stop and help in little bits. Then it would be done by the end of the day, and everyone could put their touches on it.

She'd turned on some modern renditions of Christmas songs and was bouncing to the beat a little as she got going with the lights. Thor had stayed to help, he seemed keen on Earth's festivities, plus Jane had insisted she be given a few hours of undisturbed research time, so it gave him something to do. And Darcy could use someone tall and strong to help with the tree. Pretty much anything higher than six feet was completely out of her reach even for her tiptoes.

Christmas hadn't really been a thing for Wanda's family when she was a child, they didn't really do a lot of holidays. And after her parents died, that had been the end of it. Though Wanda would have been lying to herself at least if she didn't admit she enjoyed the atmosphere during that time of year and the decor, even though she'd never participated. The last couple years with the Avengers, it hadn't been a big thing either. Tony usually put up a tree and some decor, usually it was done by some people paid to come in and make the place look nice, and she sometimes had enjoyed sitting with a book and watching the lights from the couch. But this year was different. The decorations were in reach, but she wasn't sure about jumping in.

"Has anyone eaten yet?" Wanda saw no signs of a meal having been made or eaten, so perhaps she could help with something she knew she knew how to do.

"I could eat." Thor could always eat, even when he'd just had a whole chicken five minutes earlier, which he hadn't at the moment.

"We had a snack while getting the tree, but I'm definitely getting hungry again. Are you offering food?" Darcy smiled, knowing she and Wanda were the two most likely to be found cooking something up for everyone in the kitchen.

"I am. What do you guys want? I can cook up anything we have makings for." The Compound was usually pretty well stocked, so most things were an option, and if they were out, there was a major grocery store just a few miles down the road. Wanda had finally gotten comfortable venturing out. People seemed less afraid of her now, and often folks at the store didn't even recognize her when she was shopping just like everyone else. It felt nice.

"I'll eat whatever you would like to make, Wanda." Thor grinned before finishing getting the lights onto the tree.

"Whatever you feel like making." Darcy shrugged and smiled. She trusted whatever Wanda made to be good.

"Pancakes?" Wanda hadn't really had them until she'd come to America. She'd eaten something similar back home in Sokovia, but not quite the same as the American pancake. She found she liked them though, and she liked the way most of the people around her seemed to respond to them.

"I'm always up for pancakes." Darcy grinned and giggled. It had only been a few months with everyone back in the Compound, and since Darcy and some new faces moved in as well, but they'd been getting to know each other. Wanda grinned back at her. "Maybe after you can come help me with the ornaments."

"Yeah? I don't want to mess it up." Her confidence was growing around her powers and what she could do, and her ability to control them. But uncertainties lingered in herself and anything she hadn't tried before.

"There's no messing it up. Ornaments go wherever you want to put them on a tree." Darcy knew some people were very into their trees looking just so, but that wasn't how she'd grown up. "I'm also getting out a Menorah later, if that's more your thing."

"My family was ethnically Jewish, but we didn't really practice or celebrate anything, definitely not after my parents died. But I'd be curious about both the Christmas decorating and the Menorah." As long as it didn't have to be a certain way, maybe she could try it. But first, breakfast.

"We did a tree and Menorah, but it was all pretty nondenominational in my house for the most part. So whatever you want to do. But there's no wrong way." Darcy smiled at the way Wanda nodded and appeared to release some of the tension in her body before pulling out what she needed to make pancakes.

The smell of pancakes seemed to draw Clint from his room a little while later. "I smell coffee and maple syrup." He was still rubbing his eyes, padding into the common room in boxers and a tee, not paying much attention to anything, simply following his nose. "Whoa! That's some tree."

"Thor helped me cut it down first thing this morning. Like it?" Darcy was standing on a little step ladder, adjusting some of the lights a little to make it a little more even.

"I do. That's a lot of lights, got any left for anything besides the tree?" Clint poured a large cup of coffee before meandering closer.

"What is everyone doing up so early on a Sunday?" Natasha wasn't exactly a late riser, but the fact that she heard voices from the common room before nine am on a Sunday was unusual. "Oh."

"We got a tree!" Thor smiled, his arms making a presenting motion.

"I see that now. I didn't expect it to be so big." Natasha wasn't often surprised by things, but she had not anticipated waking up to a huge tree in the common room, covered in lights.

"We went up to a tree farm and cut down the biggest one we could that would fit here." Darcy grinned, Thor had been rather helpful, but she had gotten down there with a saw and done the cutting herself. Thor did carry it though.

Clint handed his coffee mug to Nat before plucking two baubles from the mass Darcy had set out to the side of the room and proceeded to carefully select spots for them and hang them, before getting more coffee and some of Wanda's pancakes and sitting down.

"Just the two?" Natasha had curled up in a chair and was sipping Clint's original coffee.

"Yeah, I think that's good." Clint had been quite precise in choosing and hanging the two baubles, but that apparently had satisfied him.

"I was planning to set up a Secret Santa, unless anyone has any major objections to that idea." Darcy figured it would simplify things, while being a fun holiday thing to do.

"What's a 'Secret Santa?" Wanda asked the question, but Thor appeared unfamiliar with the term as well.

"It's where everyone chooses another's name, usually from a hat or some other randomized process, and then gets a gift for that person. That way everyone doesn't have to buy gifts for everyone else." Natasha's expressions were sometimes hard to read, but several of them swore there was a hint of a smile before she put the mug to her lips again.

"That sounds fun. I'm in for that." Wanda passed Thor and Darcy some pancakes and everyone seemed to take a moment to eat.

It was about then that Steve, Bucky, and Sam returned from their morning workout. Only Sam seemed to find words though. "Nice! Can I put a few ornaments up?"

"Of course, it's for everyone to contribute to decorating." Darcy smiled, she really wanted the whole holiday season to be a good time for everyone. So anyone who wanted to jump in and do something she wanted them to, and if they were more comfortable just sitting back and taking in however much or little of it they wanted, that's what she wanted them to do.

Sam spent a few minutes picking out a few ornaments and then selecting where to place them. The others mostly watched from the couch, though Natasha may have 'hmmm'ed a few times until he shifted his branch selection just slightly. Which was as close as Natasha seemed to get to actually putting anything on the tree.

Steve and Bucky had noticed Darcy right away when she'd arrived to the Compound a few months earlier, not long after they had gotten settled themselves. Steve in particular had been working with her a lot, making sure the Compound was always in proper order. It had taken him a couple of weeks to stop stumbling on his words around her, and just speak to her normally. Fortunately she hadn't seemed to hold that against him. The way she'd smiled at him whenever he stuttered or rambled had made his insides warm and fluttery.

Bucky took a little while to feel like he wasn't some alien being at the Compound. Even after his time in Wakanda, coming to the Compound after everything that happened, it was a strange sensation that took him some time to shake off. Darcy had seemed to check in personally on everyone, he'd told himself it was her job, but he still felt his pulse quicken and he somehow felt special when she checked up on him. And he all but forgot about feeling odd or out of place around her. Still, neither he or Steve had found the confidence to ask to spend time with her beyond whenever work had brought her around to them.

“This is really nice. I haven't seen a Christmas tree in ages.” It was possible he'd seen them as the Winter Soldier, but Bucky didn't recall it, and he certainly hadn't stopped to appreciate it. Christmas had been a nice time, usually, when he was young, a lifetime ago.

Darcy laid a soft hand on Bucky’s shoulder, smiling, “do you want to put a couple ornaments on the tree?”

“Maybe after I get a shower? The pancakes smell good too.” Bucky glanced at Steve, who nodded. It had come out slightly like a question, because he wasn't totally sure about the decorating thing, but he liked the idea of it.

“That sounds good to me.” Christmas had never been a big thing in Steve's life. His mother tried to make a nice dinner and he would sometimes spend time at Bucky's but that was as big as it got. The holiday got bigger all around while he was on ice, and he had even less to do for the holiday, until now. It was a little foreign, but Steve liked the feeling Darcy was creating for the holiday, so he was willing to open himself to the offerings of this time of year, especially if it might give him and Bucky the chance to get to know Darcy a little better. "The outfit is cute, by the way. I've never seen a Santa costume like that before."

Darcy laughed a little, "I got it in college for a skit type thing my roommate and I did one year. I'm honestly a bit shocked it still fit, but it did, so I figured, why not." Thanksgiving had been nice, perhaps the first time Darcy had talked to Steve and Bucky when there wasn't also Compound business to discuss, or her just checking in before having to head off to her next task of the day. She'd never considered the check ins with Bucky to be a task though. Most people at the compound weren't, she liked them all, but there were a few folks who could be occasionally challenging.

"Definitely jazzes up the place." Sam chimed in, after placing his ornaments and giving Steve a little shoulder bump. "It's nice to see some holiday spirit. I think it's a good thing for everyone this year. When we're cleaned up, we're definitely all getting that tree fully trimmed."

Darcy chuckled. She was glad the tree was getting people excited, or relaxing, or both. She wanted everyone to have a nice holiday, they all deserved it. "That sounds perfect."

Wanda started whipping up some more pancake batter so there would be plenty when they got out of the shower, while the others lounged on the couches and chairs.

"I wonder how many ornaments is too many?" Clint seemed to be eyeing the boxes of ornaments she had out.

"I don't know, the number such that there's no good spot to put them where they don't interfere with others?" That had usually been the going rule when Darcy was growing up. In later years, they did have to pick and choose sometimes which ones to use because they had more than would fit on their tree. Tony had sent over more ornaments than Darcy's family had, but then the tree was also substantially bigger than any tree she'd ever had in her home growing up.

When one of the shiny baubles bobbled, everyone noticed. Thor laughed first, then Natasha, then the rest of them. Well, Wanda had to step closer to realize and giggle a little too, but the laughing eased her moment of tension when she saw the motion.

"Everyone gets to participate in decorating the tree, but no one is allowed to be decorating the tree." Darcy moved closer to the ornament, that was slowly stilling itself, making a come motion with her finger. "Off the tree, Scott."

"Aw, come on. I thought I was cute." He hopped off and returned to regular size, popping open his suit's face mask.

"You are cute, but I feel like the only tiny Avengers that should be on the tree are the inanimate ones." From her smile she was clearly amused, but it seemed a dangerous precedent to set that the tree was a place to play around.

"Wait, do they really have those?" Wanda had almost returned to the kitchen area when she stopped to inquire.

"Yeah, they've had some for years, like Thor, Iron Man, Captain America. This year they put out a whole new bunch of them with pretty much everyone. It's kind of crazy. Tony sent a box of them over along with the regular ornaments. So if anyone wants their likeness on the tree, that's the way to do it. No literal hanging in the tree, cause that just feels like an accident waiting to happen, and I worked too hard cutting this sucker down to have one of you guys knock it over with some kind of shenanigans." She was grinning, but she knew this bunch well enough in just a few months to know that they liked to have fun when they could, and were all pretty much thrill junkies who would try anything that wasn't certain to kill them. She didn't want her tree to end up a casualty. She really had taken her time choosing it.

"Shenanigans? Me?" Scott appeared surprised for a moment before everyone chuckled.

"You cut it down? Didn't you take Thor with you?" Not that Clint didn't think Darcy could, just that if he'd taken Thor with him to get a tree, or anything else like that, he'd have let Thor do the dirty work.

"She did. Picked the one she liked and cut it down. I simply carried it." Thor had agreed that it had seemed like a very nice tree. Tall, with nice structure, lots of good branches for an assortment of decorations.

"Okay, I promise, no shenanigans in the tree. I will take this off and help decorate it though. Cute get up, by the way.” Scott winked, he and Darcy had quickly become buddies around the compound.

"Wait, did you hop into the tree just for kicks or what?" Darcy didn't really stop to wonder why initially, it had seemed like a silly, Scott sort of thing to do. But then she wondered if there was a reason.

"I was checking it out. Thought maybe I could surprise Cassie when she visits by hiding in the tree and then jumping out." He pulled off the helmet entirely and started shedding the suit. He had on pajama pants and a tee underneath.

"You would try to scare your daughter like that?" Natasha raised her eyebrow, though she looked more curious than judging.

"She likes that kind of thing. She may have gotten my odd sense of humor." Scott laughed a little, but it was true.

"Maybe Darcy could make one exception then. And I definitely would like to meet your daughter when she comes to visit." Natasha shifted to stand and take her plate to the kitchen and get more coffee for herself and Clint.

"I suppose as long as it's planned and controlled, and no one else is running around, that would be okay. And if I can be there when it happens, cause it sounds fun. Do you know when she's arriving?" Darcy grinned. As soon as Scott said why he'd done it, she was thinking she should maybe let him do it once just for his daughter.

"Thursday or Friday before Christmas, I'll confirm the day and time and let you guys know. I hope she'll have fun here, I think she will. She's actually pretty interested in all this Avenger stuff." Scott shrugged a little like it wasn't a big deal, but the beam in his eyes told another tale. A tale of a proud dad who loved that his daughter was a little mini version of him.

"All other shenanigans around the tree are not allowed, though." Darcy eyed the whole group.

"You'll probably want to leave Peter like twenty notes about that." When Natasha handed Clint a fresh cup after he spoke he went right for it.

"I told him yesterday I was getting a tree today and I didn't want to see unauthorized webbing on the tree, and it wasn't to be used for spider fun or experiments. He seemed pretty quick to agree that wasn't what a Christmas Tree was for. So I hope to see the rest of this ragtag crew behaving as respectfully as the sixteen-year-old.” Darcy pointed a finger around at everyone, except for Wanda in the kitchen.

“I'd ask why you don't trust us around the tree, but I'm guessing it has something to do with the pumpkin madness at Halloween.” Natasha had actually been rather enjoying how quickly Darcy had taken to not brushing over Natasha like she was some kind of untouchable. A lot of people took her reputation and kind of steered clear, but not Darcy. She'd perhaps fanned once at the first meeting, and then after Natasha left some dirty dishes on the counter, Darcy had looked her right in the eye and basically made her rinse the dishes and put them in the sink at the very least. 

“Yeah, and I got left to clean it up. I am not doing that again. And it's easier to pick up some more good pumpkins than to find another just right tree. So any holiday shenanigans are to be had outside or in your own rooms, not in the common room near my tree. That's my only big rule this holiday. Otherwise, everyone should relax and have fun." She started out sounding slightly serious, but by the end, her tone softened.

Scott was headed for the fresh batch of pancakes when Steve, Bucky, and Sam wandered back in. Sam reached in to snag the first pancakes ahead of Scott. Scott made a pouty face at him but otherwise didn't protest. He was in too good a mood with the holidays and Cassie coming to visit to worry too much about anything else.

"We're ready to help now." Steve rubbed his hands together, ready for any excuse to spend some time around her, even if everyone else was there too.

"Hey, did you know they apparently make little ornaments in the shape of us all?" Wanda asked the guys.

"No, that sounds weird." Steve's nose scrunched up a bit thinking about that.

"Yeah, Tony sent a box of them over." Darcy nodded.

"Awesome, when I'm done with the pancakes, I'm finding the Falcon one and putting him right up near the top." Sam sat down with his coffee and pancakes and started eating. Natasha, Clint, and Bucky all chuckled a little at that.

"I'm not sure I feel awesome about that. I mean, I guess I get it, but on our tree? Here? Isn't that weird?" Steve scratched his arm, it just somehow sat strange with him.

"I don't know, it's kind of funny. I'm for putting all our little likeness ornaments up." Clint shrugged. Not that he didn't find the notion of a miniature likeness of him hanging on the tree a little odd, but he also thought it was kind of amusing too.

"Maybe." Steve still wasn't sold on it. He didn't mind if others wanted to put their own up, but he wasn't sure how he felt yet about having a 'Captain America' on the tree. "I mean, I might enjoy seeing Sam put his Falcon up and all that. But I don't know if I want Captain America staring at me everytime I'm in here."

"Now you know how the rest of us feel." Natasha grinned at Steve before hiding behind her coffee mug again.

Steve lifted an eyebrow at her and shook his head before looking at Darcy. "Do I have to put the Captain America up?"

Darcy smiled softly at him. "How about everyone gets to decide how to deal with their own ornament likeness. If they want to put it somewhere and where that place is."

Everyone sort of nodded, it seemed fair enough. Steve shifted a little closer to whisper, "thank you." The soft, slow blink of her eyes when she smiled back made his heart flip-flop a little. The one time he and Bucky had gotten a little bit of time with her outside work had been a few days ago at the Thanksgiving party. They'd managed to snag seats next to her since Darcy had insisted the dinner be casual, which meant no assigned seats, everyone could just sit wherever. And amongst all the food and chatter and chaos, they'd gotten to whisper a few things to her, and have her lean in close to whisper a reply. Nothing especially smooth or personal, Steve had complimented the pie she made, and said she looked nice, as well as a few other small talk items. Bucky hadn't done any better, but she'd smiled at them and bumped their shoulders and touched their arms. It had made their night.

"Of course." She gave Steve's arm a gentle rub. "You smell nice. Is that just your soap or an aftershave?"

Steve opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He smelled nice. She thought he smelled nice. He felt like his mind short-circuited.

"It's just his soap." Bucky managed to answer for him, stepping closer, his eye contact with Steve until Darcy turned to look at him.

Bucky had stepped a little closer and she got the same light, clean scent off him. "You smell nice too."

"Same soap." Steve finally found words for that.

"Well, I like your soap. What kind is it?" Darcy looked back at Steve, curious about it. She didn't usually go around smelling people, and it was a soft scent, but standing so close to them, she'd noticed it and it smelled nice, and kind of made her feel all soft and like she wanted to curl up in the scent like a blanket.

"I don't know, whatever was there when we arrived. Tony asked if I liked it, I said it was good, and it's kept turning up whenever I need more." Steve shrugged, he'd never paid any attention to it other than it felt nice, got him clean, and the scent wasn't overpowering.

"It's this volcanic mud soap. I must smell good too, cause I use the same kind." Sam hopped up and got close enough for Darcy to take a whiff of him too.

She giggled a little and pat Sam's shoulder. "You do smell nice too. I guess that soap wasn't what was in my room when I arrived. I got some floral scented thing and then started buying my own in town."

"Oh, just tell Tony what soap you like, and he'll make sure it arrives to your room regularly." Natasha chimed in. Having a choice in soaps wasn't always something she'd had in her life, and hadn't considered that important for a while. Only in recent years had she come to appreciate the little joys of something like varied soaps and long baths. "I have three soaps on rotation. It's amazing."

"I'll have to try that." Darcy smiled.

"The tree! Yes!" Peter pumped his fist and rushed over to look closer. "Are we decorating it right now? I want to help, please?"

Darcy couldn't help laughing. "Yes, we're decorating it now, and of course you can help. Everyone gets to join in if they like."

The group, which steadily grew bigger over the next hour as the rest of the Compound woke up and wandered out to see what was going on. Maria claimed she could smell the pine scent from her room. And they all hung ornaments and debated tinsel and other decorations. There were also wreaths to be hung and lights to put up all around the place. Darcy said they could keep it to the tree and a couple wreaths if that felt more comfortable, but everyone seemed to want to really deck the commons out. Largely lead by Peter and Scott, but no one seemed opposed to it. Natasha didn't really get up to do much, simply kept offering suggestions on placements of things from her cozy spot in her chair.

Steve and Bucky may have trailed after Darcy a few times, offering to lift and hang things for her whenever she needed. They were hoping that the holiday might be a nice time and chance to spend a little more time getting to know her.


	2. Gingerbread

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the Darcyland Christmas Week 2018. A DARCY LEWIS HOLIDAY CHALLENGE! Hosted by @grimeysociety. 
> 
> December 20th, Day 2: Gingerbread
> 
> Completely Unbetaed, all mess is my own.

It was only the first week of December, but everyone had picked their Secret Santa names, and if talk was true, most everyone had already gotten or was on their way to getting the gift for their selected person. A thirty dollar limit was placed on the gift, but they could also be homemade, just no more than thirty. It seemed fair enough for everyone. The world was embracing the holiday spirit in a new way. Given all the world had been through, people really were trying to spread love and good cheer, which was making the holidays calm and pleasant for the Avengers. Most were around, though some of the support staff with families had vacated the premise for the month.

Wanda had become very interested in immersing herself in the trappings of the holidays. They were lighting the Menorah each night of Hanukkah and had been making different Jewish dishes each night, along with decorating the whole Compound in lights and wreaths. The pine scent around the place was amazing. She was even the one who brought the idea of a Gingerbread House to Darcy. And a house turned into a house and cookies. The two women had been in the big common kitchen for hours already baking. Cookies first so that any who passed by would have something to munch on, so they didn't try to eat the house before it was built.

Pietro had already zipped by a half dozen times to bother his sister and steal a few cookies. Then he stumbled and quickly glared at Wanda. “Stop stealing all the cookies and getting in our way. We are trying to make a Gingerbread House. And the cookies are supposed to be for everyone.”

Pietro chuckled at his sister’s lecture. “Yes, mom.” He winked and was gone in the blink of an eye, as were three cookies. It was almost funny how fast the twins had fallen back into their old relationship dynamics after the mess of the last few years, Pietro being lost to her for years.

Darcy and Wanda both laughed before getting back to mixing ingredients. There were others who passed through and nabbed a few cookies as they worked making more cookies along with the needed pieces for a Gingerbread House.

“It smells good in here.” Bucky strolled in with Steve in tow.

Steve was slightly distracted, his head down as he tapped out a message on his phone. He sidestepped just in time to avoid bumping into Darcy as she pulled a baking sheet full of House pieces out of the oven. "Oh! Sorry!"

Darcy laughed lightly, touching her hand to his arm for a moment. "It's okay, just be careful, the oven is getting a workout today."

"Wow, you aren't kidding. How many cookies are you two making?" Steve had been texting Tony who was out of town and kept asking cryptic questions about how everyone was and if they maybe wanted to do something a little bigger for Christmas, and if he thought the hangar could be cleared out for a few days for 'something'. Something Tony refused to elaborate on when Steve asked why.

"Enough to keep hungry grabby hands off the pieces we're going to use to make a Gingerbread House." Wanda was decorating some of the cooled cookies and setting them out.

"I'm guessing that's a lot of cookies in this place." Bucky chuckled, pointing at a cookie with a puppy-like expression on his face.

"Yes, have one, that's what they're here for. Both of you, have some if you want." Darcy nudged the plate of finished cookies toward Bucky a little, before moving to grab a couple trays with unbaked cookie shapes on them and getting them into the oven. She set the timer and turned back around.

"The only person abusing the privilege at this point is my brother." Wanda smiled, looking up from her decorating to see the guys tracking Darcy's every movement. She grinned a little more to herself. The whole Compound had been catching on for weeks that Steve and Bucky were both hot for Darcy, and while a little harder to tell at times, it seemed pretty clear she liked them both too. The only thing Wanda wasn't sure of was how that would sort out, given the three of them.

Bucky picked up a cookie and bit in, his whole body sighed a little as he chewed and smiled. Steve chuckled at him before trying a cookie for himself. His reaction was perhaps less dramatic, but he did smile as soon as he tasted it. "These are really good. I can see why Pietro's trying to abuse the privilege."

"Isn't the Gingerbread House just going to be eaten long before Christmas at this point?" Bucky had appeared to be thinking while he chewed, and glanced at the shapes that Darcy was moving from the baking sheet to a cooling rack on the counter.

"This one probably will be, yes. But this is the test run. I've actually never made one before, and neither has Wanda." Darcy liked cooking and baking and had done a fair deal of it, but Gingerbread Houses were never something her family had bothered with, and as such, it was something of a foreign thing to her. Gingerbread cookies she was familiar with, she'd made some of those over the years, but never the houses.

"Obviously." Wanda laughed, she'd been casually aware of holiday things. Even in Sokovia they had some of it, but it hadn't ever been a thing in her life that she paid much attention to until lately. "If this turns out well enough, which so far it seems to be, we'll make another one in the days before Christmas.

"Do you need any help?" Bucky dusted off his hands of cookie crumbs after his last bite.

"Do you cook or bake?" Somehow Darcy hadn't considered if Bucky or Steve knew how to do those things. Neither had really been involved in much of the Thanksgiving cooking. She'd asked Steve for help moving the Turkey around at one point when Thor got distracted talking to Jane. And she'd had Bucky set a timer for her at one point, but that had been it.

"I do, and he does a little. He at least doesn't burn things. He'd be good at it if he actually tried." Bucky elbowed Steve, who rubbed his abdomen after and chuckled.

"I'm sure we can find something for you guys to do." Wanda smiled, looking around. "Can you roll out dough and cut out more cookies? The gingerbread man shapes are there."

"Sure, I think we can manage that." Bucky took the lead, feeling confident he could handle that. Steve figured he could just hang by Bucky and help him.

"We've been rolling the dough out right here." There was a floury area of the counter that Darcy pointed to near the cookie cutters before she moved to open the fridge to retrieve the dough. She and Wanda had made multiple double and triple batches of dough the day before and let them chill overnight so they could make today their cutting and baking day, and hopefully assembling the house at the end of the day as well.

Bucky washed his hands and Steve followed suit. Cookies weren't something Bucky had made much, but he'd done some breads and biscuits, so he was familiar enough with handling and sometimes rolling and cutting dough.

“Maybe you could help decorate, Steve. You draw, right? If I heard right.” Wanda had never seen Steve drawing, nor anything that had been drawn by him, but she heard mention of it being a hobby of his from someone, possibly Natasha or Sam.

“Um, yeah, I do. How did you hear that?” His head cocked to the side a little. It wasn't something he'd shared with a lot of people, and when he did pull out the paper and pencil, it usually wasn't when anyone else was around. He wasn't totally sure why, it wasn't so much he was trying to hide it as it felt nice to have something that felt private, that was just his little outlet that no one else was involved in.

“I honestly am not sure who I heard it from, it's kind of just out there.” Wanda shrugged, looking down a bit sheepish for just a moment.

Steve smiled a touch. “I do, perhaps not as much as I did long ago, but sometimes, when I have some time. I could try to help with the decorating if someone shows me what to do."

“Wait, really? I heard that floating around the compound too, but I wasn't sure it was really true or just like Avengers folklore.” Darcy's mouth was a bit open in a sort of exaggerated gasp. Steve just nodded and smiled, a bit flush perhaps.

“Avengers folklore?" Wanda had never heard such a thing.

“Yeah, there's a bunch of odd stories out there about things you've done or have happened or that you're interested in. Some might be true, but some seem a bit crazy, even for this group." Darcy had seen things popping up since the events of New York years ago, and they had only multiplied and gotten stranger since. She'd been very curious when she moved to the Compound to learn what was real and what wasn't.

"Like what? Are there stories about me too?" Wanda was always working on her confidence, but it wobbled from time to time.

"Everyone. And some of them at least seem completely made up. Like that Wanda is obsessed with American youth culture, and another that conversely, she can't stand American youth culture. That 'Cap' sleeps in his uniform so he's ready to go at any moment. Some also say he uses the shield as a pillow or a blanket. They say Sam actually speaks to birds, same thing with Clint. That Thor used to tuck Mew-mew into its own little bed at night and sing it lullabies. Odd stuff. Avengers folklore."

"Mew-mew?" Bucky had stopped rolling the dough, his brow looking a bit furrowed.

"His hammer." Darcy moved the cookie sheet she'd emptied over near Bucky, where it could be loaded up with more cut cookie dough shapes.

"You mean Mjolnir?" Steve chuckled a little.

"Yeah, Mew-mew." Darcy grinned and the others laughed. She waved her hand. "Oh, whatever, you know."

"Sorry, it's cute." Steve liked the way she smiled at him when he said that. "Maybe you could show me what I need to do to decorate the cookies?"

Wanda had been standing right there, but as soon as Steve directed his request at Darcy, she slipped around to shuffle the baking sheets around with a little sly smile. As Darcy neared, Wanda gave her a nudge with her power and bumped Darcy off balance. It was a perfect chance, Darcy wasn't holding anything, and neither was Steve. Wanda knew full well how good Steve's reflexes were, and he caught Darcy before she got anywhere near actually falling. Though he did shoot a suspicious look at Wanda, to which she turned on her heel and busied herself with her back to them.

"Sorry! I don't know what happened. I must have slipped on something." Darcy hadn't felt anything, she looked down wondering if there was a bit of water on the floor or something.

"It's okay. Are you alright?" She was still holding onto him, and Steve still hadn't let go. His hands pressed softly into her back and arm.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." Darcy shook her head, trying to stop wondering about the slip and trying to also stop wondering about how it would feel if Steve's arms wrapped all the way around her. He was warm and smelled good.

Bucky was watching them with a soft smile, not getting a lot of rolling and cutting dough done while he hung on what might happen next. He and Steve had many conversations about Darcy, whatever way this went, one or both of them, it was okay. There was also the chance neither of them would get to go out with her, and that was okay too, but he hoped she was interested in at least one of them. At least Steve, maybe. He exchanged a smile with Steve as the two of them seemed to straighten up and Darcy shifted.

"I see there's some basic outline shapes for the cookies, and I can see some of how the last few were done. Should I just copy that, and is there anything to know about getting it done right?" Darcy and Wanda were working so hard on the cookies and Gingerbread House, Steve didn't want to do a sloppy decorating job.

"You can feel free to do your own designing or flairs on them. But if you want to start just trying to mimic what Wanda did on the last few, you can. Usually, the icing comes out fairly smooth if you squeeze it slow and steady." Darcy picked up one of the icing bags and did a small bit on a blank cookie. They had all the colors along with sprinkles and candies and other things to decorate with. "Beyond the icing, it's whatever you want to do decorating wise."

Steve nodded, but he was a little nervous about squeezing too hard, so he barely touched the icing bag he picked up, not wanting to have too much come out. He was so over cautious it wasn't really working. He saw Bucky give him a look and inhale and exhale.

"Just relax, they're just cookies, they don't have to be perfect. If the first couple don't look right, it's called practice, and we can eat the evidence." Darcy smiled, giving his back a gentle rub.

"I volunteer to eat the evidence." Bucky called out with a grin. Everyone laughed.

Steve tried to loosen up a little. "Okay, gentle but steady." This time he got it going pretty much just right.

"Perfect." Darcy smiled.

The guys wound up staying to help with the rest of the cookies and the assembling of the Gingerbread House. Steve had gotten the hang of the icing and was rather enjoying decorating the cookies, while Bucky managed all the rolling and cutting the rest of the day. Darcy and Wanda kept trading smiles at how much easier it was with extra hands, and Darcy was starting to have her suspicions that her slip had been a little magically aided. She had tried to keep a lid on her crushes, but she'd also quickly realized this place had a way of finding out everything about everyone. Like Steve and his artistic streak. Darcy was admittedly very curious about that now, especially since she'd seen his work on the cookies and it was rather good. Made the ones she'd iced look like kid's work.

Even with the help though, it had been a whole day endeavor and by the end, they'd all gone to bed tired. Tired enough, Steve and Bucky hadn't gotten the chance to ask what her plans for the coming days were, or if she'd like to do something with them. Wanda had shaken her head at them as Darcy headed off to her room. But it was hard for them to feel too bad because it had still been a great day spent mostly with her. Wanda had been so obviously aware of their crush on Darcy that she'd continually stepped out of the way to give them time close to her. They'd probably have to get Wanda a nice Christmas gift for that, even though neither of them had selected her as their Secret Santa.


	3. Snowball

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the Darcyland Christmas Week 2018. A DARCY LEWIS HOLIDAY CHALLENGE! Hosted by @grimeysociety.
> 
> December 21st, Day 3: Snowball
> 
> Completely Unbetaed, all mess is my own.

The snows had begun in the Northeast about two weeks before Christmas, and at least most of the Compound was finding it rather magical. Steve was still dealing with a bit of Avenger's day to day business when Bucky wandered into the commons and found Darcy staring out the windows, and no one else around. "Hey."

Darcy turned a soft smile already on her face. "Hey. How's it going?"

"Pretty good. Done working for the day?" Bucky wandered up to her, glancing out the window a moment before looking back at her.

"Yeah, I think it being Friday and snowy and Christmastime, almost everyone decided to finish up early and enjoy some free time." Her smile was steady if anything it got a little warmer looking at Bucky. He'd given her a little polite space, but not too much, and she shifted a little into that space when he leaned against the large window.

"Steve's still working." The smirk was small but clear. Bucky had tried to get Steve to just put down the paperwork, but Steve insisted he just needed fifteen more minutes and he'd be done.

"I suppose that figures. He seems to just keep going until it's all done, and then some sometimes." Darcy had definitely noticed Steve's workaholic tendencies. She did appreciate that unlike some others who left half their paperwork for her to finish, he finished his before passing them off to her. But she did sometimes worry if he was taking enough time for himself, to breathe and rest and maybe have some fun.

Bucky chuckled a little. "That he does. He'll probably be done soon though. Are you thinking of going out and enjoying the snow, or just admiring it from afar?"

"I don't think I've decided yet. I've been watching Peter and Scott lobbing snowballs at each other, it kind of looks fun. But I also know it's cold." Darcy had been forced to venture outside to check in and transfer things from building to building. She had just finished working a little while ago herself and was still bundled up in her hat and coat and scarf. She'd tucked her gloves into her coat pocket. She'd been on her way back to her room when the view from the windows caught her eye. "What about you? Thinking of going outside in the snow?"

Bucky let out a little exhaled snort. "I don't know. It looks nice, but I guess I haven't considered fun in the snow in a long time."

"Well, if something like a snowball fight seems not where you're at right now, you could start smaller." Darcy shifted a little, looking down for a moment while Bucky was so caught on her every movement he didn't even notice anything else.

"She has a point." Steve was smiling as he approached. He'd thought about hanging back and giving them a little longer to talk. Maybe see if Bucky could lock something down. But then they both paused and somewhere Steve decided he should jump in. It felt like they were close to a chance to ask her to hang out. Bucky and Darcy both looked over and smiled at Steve.

"I was thinking maybe just a little walking around, maybe a small snowman if you're feeling adventurous. Or throwing snowballs, just not at others, so no fight, just making and throwing snowballs at trees or something." She shrugged a little, not sure if it was a silly suggestion to make to the two of them.

"That could be fun." Bucky nodded, his smile growing slightly sly. "Would you be coming along?"

Her smile got brighter than the lights on the tree. "Of course!" She wasn't sure if that sounded too excited, but the smiles she got from them made her worry a little less.

"Did you need to do anything first? Or should we go now?" Steve didn't want to have the chance be missed, but he didn't know if she had things to do.

"We can go now. I've got gloves in my coat." She retrieved and pulled them on. Darcy may have been planning to go relax in her room, but that was when she didn't realize going out in the snow with Steve and Bucky was an option she had available to her. They shifted to head downstairs and she found herself flanked by the two of them.

"I haven't really considered much fun in the snow in a while either. We did have some good snowball fights back in the day, but that really was a lifetime ago." Steve had often felt both far removed from his old life, but also like it had just happened. Ever since the mess with Thanos and the Infinity Stones, everything else had felt like a whole other life. The world had been saved. They had all won. They had even somehow saved people who had been lost well before the Endgame set in. But having gone through it, it had left him with a feeling that all that had come before had happened long ago.

"I haven't had a good snowball fight or fun of any kind in the snow since College." Darcy had enjoyed winters at Culver. She had grown up in a place where snow wasn't really a thing, so winter freshman year had been rather novel, and four more years wasn't enough for the novelty to wear off. However, once she took that internship with Jane, the last credits she'd needed to graduate in fact, she hadn't found the time again. Not even when they happened to be someplace snowy. Jane was so persistent in her research, Darcy couldn't really stop to play in the snow.

"Maybe this is good for all of us then." Bucky softly nudged her arm with his elbow, his hands shoved in his coat pockets. 

"I think it probably is." Darcy's smile was warm as she lightly curled her hand at the crook of his elbow, watching him for any discomfort with the action.

Bucky's face lit up in a way it rarely did. She wanted to be close to him, she wanted to have contact with him, that was amazing for him. "It's good so far."

Steve grinned too and angled his own elbow toward her in offering. He actually had to contain himself when she grabbed hold almost immediately. It surprised him how much his pulse jumped from such a small contact. From the look in Bucky's eyes, Steve knew he was feeling the same way. "Very good."

It seemed unlikely that they both didn't notice the flush that rushed over Darcy. Without even thinking about it she pulled their arms in close to her as Steve pulled open the door to the outside. It probably was cold out there, but she hadn't noticed. She felt too warm with them both close. "Have either of you really had Christmas in a while?"

"No." Bucky hadn't had a Christmas, one that he actually was anything other than an outside observer to, since before The War.

"Not really. Sam got some gift exchanges going the last few years, but that was about it. Usually odd trinkets we picked up on missions and wrapped in newspaper or shopping bags. It was nice, made it feel like family. But none of the decorations or any of that. We never had the time or the resources. And usually weren't in one place long enough. Not that Christmases growing up were all that different." Steve had found himself at times wishing for that warm family holiday, the one he only half had even as a kid, but had always looked so nice.

"Well, I hope this Christmas will be nice, but not too much either." It was completely intentional on her part to make the Holidays fun but not overly demanding. Secret Santa meant no one had to deal with more than one gift if they didn't want to, and that everyone would get at least one gift. And making cookies and having decorations were things everyone could enjoy in their own time and way. The only planned gathering was on Christmas Eve to exchange Secret Santa gifts.

"It has been so far. It's felt like the warm family holiday that I've only heard about." Steve had taken a deep breath before he shared. Maybe it didn't sound like a revelation, but it felt like one to him.

Darcy rubbed his arm then hugged his bicep to her chest. "The holidays can be a strange time for a lot of people. So I'm glad I can make it feel nice for you all."

They had started wandering the grounds, straying away from the core buildings. With the snow, it felt almost like another place. Maybe that was what got Bucky's mind wandering a little and feeling like he wanted to try something. "Anyone want to sit down in the snow?"

"It sounds kind of cold to me." Steve chuckled, he was willing to do it though.

"We don't have to sit long." Bucky shrugged and smiled, he knew Steve would do it, he was just giving Darcy an easy way to not do it.

"Sure, I'll sit if you guys are sitting down." Darcy didn't really need convincing, it was exactly the sort of silly little thing she'd done back in college.

"Here," Bucky whipped off his coat and laid it down on the ground so Darcy could sit and not get her pants wet in the snow.

"I would have been fine, but if you're offering, sure. Thank you. You guys can try to squeeze in too." She sat down on the coat and barely noticed the cold snow beneath, especially as the two of them sat down on either side of her.

When she said squeeze in, they both kind of went for it. She giggled and curled her hands into their elbows again. Neither of them were about to try to give her space if she seemed to be happy to have them close.

"Can I ask, why aren't you going home for the holidays? I know you're busy, this place is demanding, and you're always jumping in to help everyone. But I also know if you had wanted to spend Thanksgiving or Hanukkah or Christmas with your family, Tony would have made sure that happened." Most of the Avengers had very little family. Even the ones that did, like Scott or Peter, it was a handful of people. Most of them were coming to visit for a bit and/or they were going to visit them at least for some of the holidays. But Steve hadn't heard about Darcy taking any time off this season.

"Holidays at home aren't what they used to be. My parents divorced when I was young, and once I went off to college my mother sort of stopped doing the Holidays. Her side of the family is Jewish, ethnically, but they haven't been religious in generations. There are a few traditions that carried through, but not a lot of religious affiliation. And seeing as she's not religious, while we did Christmas as a time to gather and decorate and such when I was young, she decided it was done once I was grown. My dad, well, I'm not sure really where he stands on religion these days, he was somewhat agnostic when I was young, and we're not the closest. He's an okay person, but he doesn't really share a lot or do well with communication, so I usually only see him every few years anyway, ever since college." As Darcy spoke, she glanced between them while lightly rubbing her hands along their arms.

"No siblings?" Steve wondered, being an only child himself. She didn't mention having them, but then Clint had never mentioned having a brother until the guy showed up right after they all settled in at the compound and wanted to 'catch up'.

"Oh, yeah, I have a few of them, but we've all kind of scattered since we've grown up. They're all having their lives. Sometimes someone decides around the holidays or summer to call the troops so to speak, but that happens randomly when it's convenient. This year wasn't so convenient. And I'm not sure most of them know what to make of me anymore, after all my years adventuring with Jane." She shrugged a bit, perhaps a hint of a look that suggested maybe she would have liked it to be otherwise, but had long since accepted it as well.

"So it's about the family you've made with friends as well?" Steve had never had much family, just his mother really. And even the family he found was a small one back then, Bucky really and a bit his family. Since waking up in this new century, he had found more people to call family and that was sort of amazing to him. He did believe that sometimes it could be the best kind of family.

Darcy nodded, her smile growing wider and brighter. "It is. And I knew that's what you all have here, and I wanted to make sure it was a nice one."

"You're definitely doing that." Bucky's voice was soft and low, spoken close to her ear. He wasn't fully prepared for her to hum and lean into him a little.

"Thank you." She was glad he was a fairly solid thing to lean into because otherwise, she'd have fallen over. His voice had her skin tingling.

Even Steve's pulse quickened with her reaction. It was feeling so smooth and easy being near her and he wanted more of it. They were all so focused on each other, the sound of a helicopter nearing barely registered until it came close enough to feel the air kicked up from its rotors, quickly followed by a voice.

"Hey! What are you all up to down there?" Tony was talking into a mic piece. "Gather up, I've got business to discuss. To the main building."

"Really, Tony!? We've all finished for the day if the Earth isn't in peril, can it wait until later, maybe morning!?" Shouting back at Tony, Steve was usually quick to jump on work, but unless there was real peril, he really rather keep sitting in the snow with Darcy.

The helicopter got low enough for Tony to hop out before it lifted up a bit again and headed over to land at the main building. "It's not peril, but it is a bit urgent. You see we're going to be hosting a shindig of sorts Christmas Eve, and there's a lot to do."

"Wait, I thought everyone agreed it was best to keep things low key this year." Darcy wasn't against parties, but with everything that had happened, calm seemed best. And with less than two weeks to Christmas, throwing a huge party with that little time to get ready sounded like something that would consume her days and nights until Christmas.

"I know, that was the plan. But I got an offer that couldn't be refused. The President called, and then several other heads of state. And when T'Challa said he would only attend if the Avengers were included, I knew I had to offer up the place. The public does love us right now, still basking in the glow of victory and all, but keeping our doors open and staying involved in the world will keep up public opinion. Things have been fairly calm since we vanquished the Purple People Eater, but it's not as if all the threats in the universe ended with him. I know you hate the political stuff, Rogers, but it's necessary. And it seems like a goodwill party is a pretty easy way to keep people happy." Tony threw a snowball at them and motioned them to follow.

Steve and Darcy definitely rolled their eyes before getting up. Steve hopped up first and offered his hands to help her up. Once they were, Bucky pushed himself up and collected his coat. He was perhaps less annoyed by it than Steve and Darcy, but Bucky still didn't relish being pulled from this moment with Darcy, or the prospect of some big party happening at the Compound. Though he figured he could at least lock himself in his room for a couple of days and avoid the whole mess. Poor Steve would probably be expected to meet and greet, and shake hands, and make small talk while wearing a suit or something. That might be funny to watch, but Bucky preferred to avoid the crowd.

"Don't think you're exempt, Barnes. You're one of us now, people want to meet you." Tony smiled at him, knowing Bucky was probably hoping to avoid things, but he was part of the team now. "You can clean him up, right, Lewis?"

Darcy smiled at Bucky and hugged his arm to her chest. He actually chuckled a little at Tony's comment but went silent and a bit flush as his arm became nestled between her breasts. He caught wide eyes with Steve before Steve snickered and grinned at him. Bucky glared only enough for Steve to catch it. Steve knew full well he'd have the same reaction, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to be amused at Bucky having it, especially when it was a good thing all around. Well, Darcy hugging his arm was good, them all being forced to attend some massive last minute Christmas party was less so. But maybe there would be an upside even to that if Darcy was there.


	4. Last Minute Shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the Darcyland Christmas Week 2018. A DARCY LEWIS HOLIDAY CHALLENGE! Hosted by @grimeysociety.
> 
> December 22nd, Day 4: Last minute shopping
> 
> Completely Unbetaed, all mess is my own.

With less than two weeks to Christmas, Tony had swooped into town, after having been gone since the day after Thanksgiving, and declared he was throwing a massive Christmas Eve bash. The guest list was insane, hundreds of people, big names from all reaches of the world. Politicians, Entertainers, Intellectuals, and all of the Avengers and their well-known friends and associates were expected to attend, though of course their family and friends were also welcome to come too. Darcy wasn't anti-party, but it would have been much easier if Tony had decided this a little earlier. And seeing as Compound management was largely her ball, most of the details wound up in her court. Tony, of course, had called and arranged the big things, like catering, music, security, clean-up crew. But the smaller things, like making sure there were places for any guests who wanted to stay the night to sleep, decorating the hanger which would serve as the party space, arranging the tables and such things, and putting together gift bags for the event were all on her to-do list.

Darcy had been working twelve hour days since Saturday to get the party in order, which was less than a week away. She'd managed to at least secure some rooms both at the compound and at a nearby bed and breakfast for any guests who might not wish to have to go all the way home that night and didn't have their own arrangements. In particular, she'd secured the guest rooms in the main Avengers building for T'Challa and his entourage. She'd also ordered and picked up most of the decorations for the event. It was progress, but she hadn't even begun to deal with gift bags or just how to deal with the table settings. Even though Tony acknowledged that after everyone ate, seating arrangements would become meaningless as everyone mingled about, but being Christmas Eve and there being a real dinner being prepared, he wanted to start the night off with everyone feeling they had a particular spot to sit. Part of Darcy told her that was really Pepper talking. It made sense, but it meant more work for her.

Darcy was passing through the Commons on her way out to shop for items for the gift bags and perhaps a couple of last decorations, she had just finished emailing the caterers who wanted to confirm the number of guests and such things. The commons were fairly quiet as it was fairly early in the morning. She expected most of the Compound to still be sleeping, as such she almost didn't notice Steve and Bucky laid out on the couches.

“Hey, Darcy. Seems like we’ve barely seen you in days. How are you?” Steve spoke, but Bucky had sat up as well.

She found herself immediately caught in their gazes. “Hey. I know it's been a little crazy since Tony turned up with the party plans. I feel like I've been just working and sleeping.”

“Where are you headed now?” Bucky was hoping they could get a little time with her, even if it was only a little while.

“I've got to go shopping, I need to come up with gift bags for this party.” The fatigue hung in her eyes as she shook her head. Normally there where more people to assist with such things, but seeing as the plan had been for a quiet holidays, most of the support staff had been offered long holidays if they wanted them, and most had taken them.

“Need help?” They were happy to help, and Steve knew they both would happily take any time they could to spend with Darcy.

“Oh, you guys should be relaxing. I can get it done. Besides, I have to actually go all the way into the city.” As hard as she knew she worked, she always felt like they worked even harder and were far more scrutinized than someone in her position.

“We would be happy to help you out. Steve gets a little itchy actually if he doesn't have anything to do. And I wouldn't mind checking out the city.” Bucky chuckled and grinned at Steve.

“Are you guys really sure you wouldn't rather relax? It's likely going to be an all-day thing. I'm taking the train there from Poughkeepsie and possibly running all over Manhattan before I can head back.” Darcy’s smile was bright though, just from the idea of them being willing to help her and the prospect of getting to spend some time with them.

Bucky and Steve were on their feet without another word. "Even better. I've been looking for excuses to visit the city. Helping you shop for Tony's crazy party sounds like a good reason."

Bucky grabbed up both their coats and they were headed down to the car that would take them into Poughkeepsie. They piled into the car and Bucky engaged the holographic camouflage on his arm to hopefully keep anyone from making them as anything other than ordinary people. Despite the fame of the Avengers, even Steve rarely got noticed unless it was known that Steve 'Captain America' Rogers was supposed to be someplace. Darcy wasn't exactly sure how they'd all wound up in the backseat with her in the middle, but she wasn't complaining. Nor did she complain when that continued to be the seating arrangement on the train ride.

"How exactly did you get roped into doing all this anyway?" Bucky liked the way Darcy had leaned into him in the train seats. He'd grabbed the window, and Steve got the aisle. Though, Steve was leaning into the other side of her and her seat.

"I've kind of gotten dubbed the Compound manager I guess." Darcy didn't have to worry about getting cold on this journey, she'd managed to bring not one, but two human heaters who seemed very happy to keep close to her.

"Still, how did this end up part of that job description?" Steve's fingers were starting to play a bit with hers, as she'd left her hand right along the edge of her thigh next to his. As he did, she smiled and brushed her fingers back at his.

"Anything going on there kind of becomes mine to at least keep an eye on, and with so much of the support staff gone for the holidays, it wound up a bigger job than I realized, or than I think Tony thought it would be. But, I think I'm on pace to manage to get it done in time." This was far better than going alone. Besides the human heaters factor, or how nice they both were to look at, if she'd been taking this two-hour train ride alone, she'd have probably felt obligated to send emails and organize on her phone, and then fret about just what to get once she was there. With them there, she was wonderfully distracted from that and feeling genuinely relaxed, yet excited.

"What kinds of gift bags are you doing?" Steve had been forced to attend a couple of Tony's parties, and for the most part, they weren't too bad. A bit chaotic perhaps, but there were genuinely fun and interesting people there, and he enjoyed being with friends and having fun. But none of those parties had included gift bags. He had a concept what they were, but hadn't actually seen one in person.

"A whole variety. Tony invited a whole range of people. Different kinds of tastes, plus everyone's got a plus one at least, and many are coming with a larger entourage. There's, of course, some guests who will be getting special gifts, but Tony and Pepper are handling those. But everyone will get to take a gift bag, it is Christmas after all, can't send people home empty-handed. Tony and Pepper tossed me some ideas, and the City seemed the best place to shop for a variety of different things. I was also curious to check out some of the Christmas markets, just because they sound fun." Darcy had a company card to charge everything on. Tony had even told her to treat herself to whatever she wanted while she was out shopping for the party, no matter the price. She probably hadn't taken advantage of that the way some people would. She'd admired a sweater Pepper had on at Thanksgiving, and Tony had told her it was bought at Bloomingdale's for a few hundred dollars, and he told Darcy to go try one on and get it if she wanted, on him. But thus far the most Darcy had gotten herself 'on Tony' was a few cups of coffee, a half a tank of gas, and a new book.

"I suppose having a bit of free rein like that could be fun. Getting to pick out things that look interesting." Bucky wasn't exactly sure what it would be like to have to choose gifts for bunches of people. He'd struggled a bit with just one Secret Santa. But in theory, it sounds like it could be fun.

"I think so, I hope so. I'm slightly nervous about not picking out nice enough things. Tony said everything should be nice, high quality, price was not a huge factor. Though the idea is also for those things to fit in a bag or some other kind of manageable sized container. And things that have strict sizes aren't good. But that does leave a rather wide field to choose from. I've never felt like I was good at choosing gifts, and since my family stopped exchanging gifts around the time I started college, it's been a while since I've had to." She and Jane didn't really exchange gifts, only got something tasty to eat at birthdays and some holidays, when Jane wasn't in the middle of some grand discovery.

They got rather cuddly and cozy while chatting about gift ideas and food during the rest of the train ride. By the time they'd exited Grand Central Darcy was holding Steve's hand and tucked under Bucky's arm. She wasn't exactly sure still what all was happening, but she sure liked how it felt. She had also already picked up a few gifts from the little holiday fair that resided right inside Grand Central.

Tony had bought back The Tower, actually, it had all but been handed back when the buyers faulted on their payments in the wake of the Infinity chaos. The Avengers had righted most things, but they couldn't fix all of everyone's problems, not when some people were shady businessmen whose practices were exposed when they disappeared in the decimation and their finances were found out. The perk to that was if Darcy got too loaded down with finds, she could make a call to the Tower and someone would be sent out to pick up what she had and it would be kept safe at The Tower. If needed, Tony even said a Quinjet could be loaded up to bring the stuff back to the Compound.

The Christmas market in Bryant Park was busy, even as it was just opening for the morning, but she had expected no less from New York City less than a week before Christmas. As they got to the edge of the park, Bucky paused a moment.

“Is it too much?” Darcy knew Bucky was sometimes cautious with new experiences.

“No, I'm okay, just taking a moment to take it in.” He rubbed his hand up and down her arm, a soft smile playing on his lips and in his eyes.

“Okay, good. Let me know though if anything feels overwhelming or even if you just need a few moments, like this.” Darcy wanted them both to be comfortable.

“This really is something. I like the feeling of it.” Steve couldn't put his finger on it, but there was this warm vibe he got from the market unless it was just that he was there with Darcy. He gave her hand a squeeze and loved the way she squeezed back.

"Where do we start?" Bucky was both curious and using it to let Darcy and Steve know he was ready to proceed.

"I say we just start at this entrance and loop around until we've seen everything." They were at the northeast corner, so it seemed a good place to start. Darcy had never been to such a thing, but it looked very nice. And it was made even nicer by the company she had with her.

They took their time, as they had all day, strolling the park, looking inside every kiosk that looked interesting, which turned out to be nearly all of them. Darcy was definitely making a dent in her quest to get things for the Christmas Eve gift bags. She'd picked up a bunch of different things from jewelry to artisan foods to scarves and cufflinks to soap and several other things.

"Aren't you glad you brought us?" Steve smirked, he and Bucky were helping her carry a bunch of things back to the Tower, and they hadn't even finished the day. There were still other markets and shops to look around at, and half a day ahead of them.

Darcy laughed, then gave them both a squeeze, one hand in Steve's still, and the other arm around Bucky's back. They'd barely stopped touching all afternoon. "I am, very glad. Besides having help carrying things, it was nice to have such good company. Are you guys good to check out one of the other markets? There's one near Central Park and one down at Union Square."

"I'm enjoying this. Something about it feels very normal, aside from you buying a bunch of stuff for Tony's party." Bucky chuckled, but it did make him feel oddly normal. Walking around the market and the city in general, he felt like just another person in the world, which was a feeling he still struggled to have. 

"How's your list coming, in terms of the gift bags?" Steve pulled open the doors at the Tower to get them all inside.

"Making a dent anyway." Darcy had actually been keeping a log, one of those times where she had to let go of either Steve or Bucky for a moment so she could make some notes in her phone. The guest list was a few hundred people, so there were lots of gifts to buy. Tony had some things he planned to include that he'd ordered or had made, but that only covered some of what he wanted to have as part of the gifts. "Thank you for coming with me. I don't think I'd be having this much fun if I were here alone."

Bucky squeezed her close and kissed her temple before his mind could stop him and question if it was an appropriate action. And before his mind could jump in to worry him about it, Darcy squeezed him back and nuzzled into his shoulder. Bucky caught eyes with Steve, they had similar wide-eyed, stupid grin expressions.

After dropping off the first bunch of things, they headed for the market at Union Square where they picked up a bunch more things. While there, they shared some food, and when seats were scarce, Steve gently pulled Darcy down to sit on his lap. Steve hadn't always been sure if he'd be enough at ease to do public displays of affection, though he'd also been pretty convinced it would never be something he'd need to think much about. But it felt remarkably comfortable having her lean into him and holding onto her.

They did end up needing a Quinjet to get all the stuff back to the Compound, though they decided to roam the city a little longer and took the train back. By the time they returned, most of the Compound had gone to bed, and Darcy, anyway, was ready to do the same. Though it was still a little tough pulling herself away from Steve and Bucky to go to bed. They walked her to her door, and the three lingered just a bit.

"Thank you, again. I had fun with you guys. I was a little stressed about this last minute shopping, and you two took my mind off the stress while helping me actually get it done." Darcy was standing about as close to them as she could be without being wrapped around them. Her voice was soft as she gazed up at them, her focus flicking from Steve to Bucky and back again a few times over.

"It was fun for us too. I don't always get out a lot, I'm still a bit wary about the world and how they might react to me. But I wasn't thinking about that today. I was just having fun with you." Bucky smiled easy and broad as his hand lightly massaged the small of her back.

"I don't really get out so much either. I bury myself in work whenever possible, even when I know I shouldn't. I didn't think about any work or anything else today. I'm glad to help, but more than that, I was glad to spend time with you." Steve was still holding onto Darcy's hand, sans gloves now that they were inside, and his thumb brushed over the back of her hand.

The blush was probably all over her after they both spoke. Darcy shifted her hand from Bucky's shoulder up to the back of his neck as she raised up on her toes and leaned in to kiss his cheek.

Bucky leaned in a little as she did, and hummed softly at the feeling of her soft, warm lips at the corner of his mouth. He wanted so much to wrap her up with both arms, he didn't care if the left one was sometimes a vaguely odd reminder of things he would rather forget. He wanted to pull her in as close as he could, and that second arm would be rather effective for that. But he didn't. He just rubbed his hand against her back and savored the moment for as long as it lasted, until she pulled back to do the same to Steve.

Steve had the same urge to pull her in that Bucky had as her nose brushed his cheek and her lips rolled softly by the corner of his mouth. Even after a whole day out and in the city, there was a softness to her scent, perhaps something lingering from her shampoo, his nose was definitely savoring the tickle of her hair.

When she finally pulled away from them both and waved before slowly disappearing behind the door of her room, Steve and Bucky sighed and stood looking at one another for a long moment before either mustered the will to move.


	5. Ugly Sweater

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the Darcyland Christmas Week 2018. A DARCY LEWIS HOLIDAY CHALLENGE! Hosted by @grimeysociety.
> 
> December 23rd, Day 5: Ugly Sweater
> 
> Completely Unbetaed, all mess is my own.

Originally the plan had been to have the Secret Santa gift exchange, along with a small party in the common room, happen on Christmas Eve but since that was now the time of the massive party Tony was throwing they had to move their smaller gathering. And they all agreed they still wanted to do a little gathering just for the Avengers and those close to them. They talked about just doing it Christmas morning. It might be okay for gifts, but they wondered about if a few people might party too hard the night before and not want to be up for Christmas Morning. Thus they had arrived on three days before Christmas, they would all gather and have a little party in the commons and exchange their Secret Santa gifts. It would also leave Christmas Morning free for everyone who had a family to spend it with them or to exchange special gifts with anyone they might have wanted to get a gift for, simply because they were special to them.

With Tony's Christmas Eve being a semi-formal sort of affair, cocktail party attire at least. Darcy decided that perhaps their little gathering should go super casual, like people could show up in pajamas if the wanted to, whatever they were comfortable in. Darcy had donned her Santa outfit again, while most others arrived in jeans and comfy sweaters. Sam had gone for the full loud ugly Christmas sweater. And a few folks had embraced the pajama idea, like Wanda, Peter, Scott, his daughter Cassie, and Maria of all people. T'Challa and his party had arrived in time to join them as well, curious to take in more casual festivities as well as Tony's big event. Tony and Pepper were in attendance as well, of course. Tony was dressed more or less like Hugh Hefner at Christmas, pajamas so high class they barely read like pajamas.

The party had begun in earnest around dinnertime. Darcy and Wanda, along with some help from Sam and Bucky, were cooking. It wasn't long before people were lounging about in clusters chatting and munching on appetizers and cookies. Natasha was mixing drinks and talking to Okoye. Even Loki showed up and was skulking about near the bar. Darcy had been somewhat skeptical when Thor said his brother would be joining them for the party and wanted to participate in the gift exchange.

Erik had almost turned right around upon spotting Loki, but it appeared the trickster god made his apologies for what had occurred years ago. From what Darcy heard, he wasn't exactly acting entirely of his own accord. The kitchen was largely in hand, so she figured she could try to help some fun along, starting with Loki. She had Nat mix up a green drink and grabbed a green Santa hat from a bunch Christmas hats she'd put out for anyone to take and marched over.

"Alright, take this, and put this on." She'd reached up and pulled the hat onto Loki's head before he could quite react to what was happening.

Loki looked around trying to figure out if Thor had put her up to this or what. Thor only chuckled upon spotting what was happening. He took a sip of the drink and decided at least it wasn't half bad. "What exactly are you doing to me?"

"Trying to make your little black and green heart grow three times tonight." Darcy adjusted the hat a little and smiled, patting Loki's shoulder.

"What?!" Loki glared at her.

"Now, just go get in there. If you don't want to hang around your brother and look like a shadow, just go insert yourself into the center of the party. I somehow doubt you don't know how to socialize, so stop lurking in the corner. That won't convince anyone you're not the Grinch who tried to destroy the world. And if you haven't seen The Grinch who Stole Christmas, we're watching it tomorrow afternoon, and I expect to see you there." Darcy pointed toward the center of the room and pushed on Loki's back.

Loki started moving, albeit looking somewhat perplexed as to what he was doing. Thor had stood up and waved at Loki. "Come, Brother!"

Clint wandered in late, pausing a moment as Loki walked by. He had mostly come to terms with everything and even understood that Loki's actions leading up to and including the Chitauri invasion were things he did under the coercion or threat of Thanos. Though that didn't keep him from taking pause when he didn't expect to see Loki somewhere. Clint was wearing a Christmas sweater that had a Velcro target and balls on it and said 'You miss, You drink', and boxer shorts that looked like Santa's pants. He also had a full bottle of whiskey dangling from his hand.

After a moment, Clint chuckled and looked at Darcy. "Did you get that hat on him?"

"I did." Darcy grinned, looking Clint up and down. "Cute outfit."

"Thanks. It's comfortable." Clint chuckled again. "Care to try your luck. Nat can make you something good if you miss, unless you want the whiskey."

"Sure. I would say whiskey is not my beverage of choice. But maybe I won't miss at all." Darcy didn't have terrible aim, but she was hardly a 'can't-miss'. She pulled the little Velcro and plastic balls off his sweater. "From how far away do I have to throw them?" That would obviously make a difference in her chances at making it.

Clint backed up, and several heads turned to watch. "From there. I've tested this distance, and it should be manageable with a decent aim and throw."

It was about twelve feet, the little balls were light though, and she did have her doubts. "Clarification question, if I make any of them do I win? Or do I have to drink for every single one I don't make?"

"Hadn't thought about it, but let's say the second one, just to make it interesting." Scratching his head a bit as some folks gathered a bit closer.

"Trying to get everyone drunk tonight, Clint?" Natasha grinned from the bar.

"Maybe." Clint chuckled before making a sweeping motion with his hands along his sides and putting his arms out. "Come on, Lewis. Take your shot."

"I'll play next." Scott was always down for a game, and even if he missed all three, he knew he wouldn't get drunk off three shots.

"Oh, me too!" Peter actually raised his hand when he said it.

"You can play but if you miss you drink cranberry juice, Kid." Clint was very firm on that. Peter shrugged and nodded without protest.

"Okay, everyone chill! I can't miss more than one or I'm definitely going to be buzzed tonight." Darcy had a glass of wine while she was cooking and she knew that more than one more within an hour of one another and she'd be getting a little wobbly. There were a collection of chuckles the rippled around the room. Darcy took a breath and threw the first and hit. Wasn't quite on the bulls-eye, but it hit the target area and stuck. Same for the second. And then the third went a little low and to the left, sort of bouncing off Clint's hip.

"Pick your poison and I'll mix you something tasty." Natasha smiled as others clapped.

"I'm going with two out of three ain't bad, and tequila." Darcy put her elbow on the bar as the party became enthralled with the game around Clint's sweater. Such that only Natasha shot them any looks when Steve and Bucky slid up on either side of Darcy at the bar.

"Strawberry Kiwi Margarita. Enjoy." Natasha gave her a wink and slid back down the bar toward Okoye.

"Thanks." Darcy smiled and took a sip right away before succumbing to the intensity of combined gazes of the men on either side of her. She glanced up at one then the other through her eyelashes as she took another sip. She hadn't seen a lot of them since a couple days earlier when they helped her with the shopping. Even though Bucky had been helping with the cooking, she barely got to talk to him, it was too hectic in the kitchen. Though she did get to sneak a few glances and share a few smiles. Steve hadn't appeared until the party was in full swing a little while ago. Sam had mentioned something about Steve trying to knock out three days of work this afternoon.

"You look very nice." Steve smiled deep and easy.

"Really? This costume is so old. I'm surprised I still fit into it, but it seemed a shame to waste it when it did." Darcy laughed, but it was what had motivated her to wear it twice this holiday season. In college, it had been cute, perhaps slightly sexy, but not overtly so. It came to mid-thigh, still, the neckline plunged a little but not exceptionally so. It did put a bit of her cleavage on display, but no more than a lot of her v-neck shirts. And she was fairly sure her hair did not look as it had when she'd left her room after cooking for an hour or two.

"It fits. And you look beautiful." Bucky did a full sweep of her body with his eyes before catching her gaze again.

Darcy literally quivered. The intensity coming off Bucky was like nothing she'd felt before from anyone. Except maybe right then off of Steve. She took something of a gulp off her drink, more than she'd really intended, and had to take a few deep breaths before trying to speak. "Thank you. You both look nice, too."

Steve was wearing dark blue jeans and a dark green sweater, while Bucky had on black jeans and a grey sweater. They chorused a, "thank you."

They both looked so damn cozy she wanted to just bury herself between them. "Those sweaters look soft and warm."

She felt Bucky's hands land soft and light on her hips. "I suppose they are. If you're cold, or just want to, you can feel them."

Her fingers on her free hand ran over Bucky's chest. The sweater was soft, she loved it. She also loved how soft his eyes were getting as she did it. The rest of him still radiated intensity, but the look in his eyes went soft and perhaps a little needy. She downed the rest of her drink and set it aside before shifting and sliding her arms around him and pulling him in close. Bucky's arms wrapped snug around her as soon as she did and he buried his face in her neck and shoulder. Darcy held onto him for a long minute before even thinking of whispering in his ear. "The sweater is nice and soft and warm. And so are you."

It was Bucky's turn to quiver a little, but he hoped no one besides Darcy, and maybe Steve noticed it. His hands ran slowly up and down her back, trying to find some way to get her closer or keep her there or something like that. His mind was a little beyond clear thought while his body was just feeling how good she felt. The Santa outfit was soft and velvety under his fingers, it was hard to stop his fingers from petting her. It even felt nice to his metal fingers. He didn't feel things quite the same with that hand, but it was a very advanced piece of technology and it had a fairly attuned sensor array. Bucky wasn't sure he'd fully appreciated that until that moment, perhaps because he'd never wanted to touch something so much or so fully as he wanted to touch Darcy.

"I think polite hug got passed about sixty seconds ago." Natasha's voice pulled them both back. Both she and Okoye were eyeing them with sly smiles.

Steve's smile was more stupid grin than anything else. He hadn't moved, simply kept his hands to himself so they could have a moment. Bucky pulled back, his gaze focused down a little. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, I think she was enjoying it as much as you were. Just thought you both should know since at some point the rest of the party will notice. As long as you're good with the notice then continue." Nat gave Bucky's arm a squeeze, then Darcy's. She had been aware for a while. She'd caught the scent of a crush on Steve first. His stoic face worked well on most people, but she read right through it. And once she caught onto Steve, she picked up on Bucky's crush on Darcy pretty quick too. It actually took longest to figure out if Darcy really liked them back or not. Darcy was reasonably open and friendly with everyone, it had made it tougher to distinguish the kindness and interest she showed to everyone from a crush. Slowly, but surely though, Natasha had caught onto the slightly lingering smiles on Darcy's lips when she walked away from Steve or Bucky, and the slight flush she started getting the more lingering their interactions got at work. Knowing the guys though, she wasn't sure if Steve and Bucky were ready for the rest of the Compound to notice not only their crush but something more starting to form.

Steve had spent the last few days considering if they should try to keep things quiet until they were certain, or if maybe just letting it be out there was the way to go. He was a private guy, but he'd so thoroughly enjoyed holding Darcy's hand and getting close to her, he didn't really want to step back from that just because they had a bunch of nosy friends who would probably figure it all out anyway soon enough. Not that there had been a real discussion about this being a relationship, but even Steve was fairly certain he was seeing all the things he felt reflected in Darcy's eyes.

Darcy looked from Bucky to Steve, then swept over the room. It appeared everyone else was too busy with party games and chatter to notice the activity by the bar. One hand still lingered on Bucky's wrist, as his hands still held lightly to her hips. "How do you guys feel about that?"

"It doesn't matter to me what anyone else thinks along the way. Only what you think." Bucky dipped his nose into the hair just over her ear. His voice low and deep.

Darcy pulled softly on his wrist, the sound of his voice making her want to drag him in closer. "I think I'm enjoying this far too much to care about anyone's thoughts on whatever is going on here. Other than you two."

Steve's smile got broader and his fingertips brushed at Darcy's cheek. "I agree. I suppose at some point we should figure out whatever is going on here. But as long as you're happy figuring it out with us, that's good enough for now."

It was hard to avoid the party, as food was had and gifts were opened and more games were played. It was something of a group gathering, and others definitely noticed how close Darcy seemed to stick to Bucky and Steve during the course of the evening. The knowing grins were piling up, but they were all grins.

"How is there no mistletoe at this party? How does one have a Christmas party with no mistletoe? Miss Lewis, please make sure there is plenty of mistletoe at Christmas Eve." Tony seemed shocked and appalled.

"I'm surprised you don't just carry the stuff on you, Tony." Clint chuckled, he hadn't noticed if there was mistletoe or not at this party, but now that it had been brought up, he realized there wasn't any around the common lounge.

"I stopped when I started dating Pepper." To which Pepper laughed and kissed Tony's cheek. He kissed her back on the lips. "Don't need it anymore."

"I'll make sure to get some mistletoe for the party." Darcy hadn't thought about mistletoe when she decorated, and no one else had mentioned it until now. It simply had never been one of the holiday traditions that had really appeared in her family. It was possible there had been some at her grandfather's parties when she was a child, but she hadn't paid much mind to it then.

If there had been some, Tony would have dangled it right over Darcy's head and seen if Steve and Bucky would just get on with it.

The party lingered late, with everyone slowly drifting off to their rooms one or two at a time. Almost everyone had headed to bed, except for Darcy, Steve, Bucky, and Wanda. Once the place was nearly clean, they waved Wanda off to bed after she yawned for the fourth time in a row. The last few things were picked up and cleaned off, and Darcy was again standing with Steve and Bucky on either side of her. Steve took her hand and lead them all over to the couch.

"I don't want to rush anything. We can take our time. But there is something happening here, right? Between us? And you're okay with that, right? With this being me and you and him?" After they'd all taken a breath, Steve had opened his mouth and spoke slow and soft, his gaze on her.

"I don't want to rush either of you, we can go at whatever pace is comfortable. Whatever feels safe for you guys. And yes, I'm okay with this, this, something between us. We can figure out how it works as we go, as we take steps forward." Darcy's smile was warm and steady. She certainly didn't want to push either of them too fast. She knew enough to know this was sort of a monumental step for both of them given all they'd been through. "I never considered this sort of arrangement before, but I certainly wouldn't want to consider anything else now either."

Her voice sounded uncertain toward the end. "Are you sure? It's okay, one of us can step back." Bucky didn't want to hinder one of their chances by making her think it was both or nothing.

"No." Darcy's response was quick and firm, clutching one of their hands in each of hers. Bucky nuzzled into her nearly as fast. She could feel his inhale and exhale in her hair and against her skin. Steve's reaction was slower but no less intense. She was caught in his stare and he pulled her hand to his chest and kissed her temple before resting his forehead to hers and staring at her about as close up as two people could. She was perhaps just realizing how attached she'd already become to the both of them when the momentary prospect of one of them backing away came out.

They cuddled up so close and just breathed each other in, they actually nodded off for a little while. Not terribly long, but it was after midnight when they stirred and Darcy forced herself back to her room. Even in their tired state, Steve and Bucky walked her to her door and watched her go inside before shuffling off to bed themselves.


	6. Bah Humbug!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the Darcyland Christmas Week 2018. A DARCY LEWIS HOLIDAY CHALLENGE! Hosted by @grimeysociety.
> 
> December 24th, Day 6: Bah Humbug!
> 
> Completely Unbetaed, all mess is my own.

It was December 23 and things were not going as Darcy would have hoped. She'd had hopes a few weeks ago of spending the days before Christmas relaxing and just enjoying the holiday season. As recently as last night, she was hoping to make sure party plans were in motion and be back to the commons by lunchtime to enjoy the Christmas movie marathon she'd helped plan, preferably from a seat cuddled in between Steve and Bucky. That wasn't how her day went.

After getting to bed a little late, she was woken at five in the morning by an incessant call from one of the DJs (there were three of them for the party) whose vehicle's tires were slashed overnight and wanted to let them know of the situation, and that they might need a ride from the train station if they couldn't find a tire shop that could take them without costing an arm and a leg. Darcy told them not to take the train and arranged private transport for them so that they didn't need to stress about their car getting done in time. Following that she fielded calls and messages from the caterers and two of the four bands they'd booked for the event about a variety of things from staging areas, performance areas, equipment, appetizer buffet options, and setlists. Tony had also decided last minute he wanted to have an outdoor area, since there were no storms forecasted for Christmas Eve, so she had to arrange for patio heaters, a tented area and a number of other things they would need extra of outside.

Then there were the tasks she'd anticipated, like making sure the hanger was cleared out and making sure the tables, stages, dance floor, lounges, and everything else were set up. Two trees were also brought in and put up. There was a crew of people to help that had been hired, but she had to oversee it all, make sure things were being put in the right places, and a few times she had to jump in and help move things around. Most of the decorating needed to be done. Tomorrow morning was for finishing touches only, and double checks, because there would be all the catering and entertainment coming in and setting up. There were also several photographers who were hired to attend the party and capture the moments.

It consumed her whole day. By the time she made it back to the main building and into the residential area the Christmas movie marathon with all the popcorn and other goodies had been over for more than an hour. Many had retired to their rooms after dinner and the movies, a few were lounging around talking or reading or whatever else. But she'd missed out on the real fun, perhaps just as well, because she wasn't feeling very merry anymore. She was feeling like she'd be glad for Christmas to be over.

"Just so you know, Darcy, my heart did not grow three times. However, the Grinch was surprisingly tolerable." Loki had attended the movie marathon, which had consisted of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, A Christmas Story, Elf, Miracle on 34th Street, and A Charlie Brown Christmas.

"I'm glad, Loki." Darcy nodded, but even Loki and his ego could see her eyes lacked her usual luster. "But also, bah humbug."

"Oh dear. You don't seem cheerful at all." Loki had gotten to his feet but wasn't quite certain what else to do. Peter sat quietly on the couch. He wanted to help but wasn't sure how.

"I'm not. I'm about done with this holiday. Way too much work. Maybe as long as I get the party up and running tomorrow I can bail out and just crawl into bed." She tossed her coat and bag on the counter and went looking for something to soothe her frayed nerves.

"I can make you something." Wanda was already moving toward the kitchen as she offered.

"No. Thanks. I'll eat whatever I can find, as long as there's something around here that tastes good but probably isn't good for me." That was when her hand found the tin of Almond Rocas in the back of the cabinet. "This will do."

Loki and Peter had disappeared down the hall once Wanda stood up. They didn't return, but Steve and Bucky did appear. "Hey, Doll."

Darcy might have been missing her holiday spirit at the moment, but she was sure glad to see them. She set the tin down while chewing and went face first into Bucky's chest, arms circling him tight.

"Are you alright? Loki said you seemed upset or troubled?" Steve's voice was soft as he ran his fingers through her hair and heard her almost purr, even with her face buried in Bucky.

It took her a moment before she turned her head a little to speak. "Tired. A little upset, maybe, at all the work. This was supposed to be a calm relaxing holiday and it's just become more work than I usually have to do. I got woken up at five this morning with, admittedly somewhat important calls, but ugh! And it just didn't stop from there." She tried to squeeze Bucky tighter.

Bucky knew how tight was too tight to squeeze her, he went just shy of that, and it felt like she tried to burrow into him even more. "Doll, you should have called us, we'd help you any way we can."

Darcy shook her head. "I don't know that there was a lot you guys could have done. The calls and messages, I can only answer those one at a time anyway. And there was a whole set up crew, but I had to check over everything and it was just non-stop all day. I do kind of feel ready for this all to be over. I'm ready for December twenty-sixth, please."

Steve pressed a long kiss to her forehead and continued stroking her hair. "Still, I bet we could have done something, at least tried. And if we couldn't, I probably could have gotten Tony to do a little more work on his own damn party." Steve hadn't really relished the thought of this party, and seeing the work going into it breaking Darcy down a bit, he thought it even more unnecessary.

"I don't think Tony's just kicking back. He arranged all the setup crew and a bunch of stuff. Nothing I'm doing is outside of my job description. This was just not in my game plan for this season. But best-laid plans and all, I guess. I thought I'd at least get back for some of the movies, but I missed it all." Reaching one arm out for Steve, Darcy just wanted to feel nothing but them.

Bucky shifted a little and Steve was pulled in and she tried to bury herself between them. Bucky leaned in to kiss her head while Steve exchanged a few looks with Wanda, who grabbed a few things and set up the media room for more movies. Bucky slowly pulled himself out to help Wanda while Steve scooped Darcy up. Her legs went right around his waist as soon as he did.

Wanda helped set up the room and then ducked out, leaving Darcy with Steve and Bucky. Steve settled in with Darcy half on his lap. “Should we watch the movies from earlier or something else?”

“If you guys watched them all then we should watch something else.” Darcy had seen them all before, so something at least new to them seemed the way to go.

“We will watch anything you want to watch. Though maybe we should stick with Christmas movies?” Bucky loved how much enthusiasm Darcy had for the holidays and he wanted her to get that back.

“Have you guys seen any Christmas movies besides the ones today?” Darcy wasn't sure if Steve, in particular, had been catching up on things like that over the years.

“We haven't.” Steve had seen far more movies than Bucky and while he had watched some things since waking up, Christmas movies hadn't happened until today.

“How do you feel about a romcom Christmas movie?” Darcy had left one holiday favorite out of the marathon lineup because she wasn't sure how a bunch of superheroes, spies, and assassins would feel about a romcom.

"Anything you want." Bucky had the remote and selected Christmas movies, Tony had everything digital and ready to play at the press of a button. He didn't care what they watched if it made Darcy smile and feel better.

"The movie is called Love Actually. That's the one I want to watch." She did smile just a bit when Bucky selected the movie and sat down in the seat next to Steve. They weren't even going to leave her an actual seat, she was just going to sit sort of on and between them. Darcy snuggled in. Steve had an arm around her back and the other hand on her hip. Bucky's hands rested on her thigh and played with her fingers.

Bucky rather quickly curled his legs around the one of hers that was draped over him, and his far arm, the real one, stretched around the front of her waist as he nuzzled into her shoulder. When she softly kissed his forehead, he sighed long and deep. He was trying to make her feel better, and here she was making him feel better. But he could feel her relaxing quickly as the movie got going and he'd snuggled into her.

Steve had her other leg softly pressed between his and he rested his chin on her shoulder. The movie was good but the best part was holding her. "Is this your favorite Christmas movie?"

"One of, for sure. There's maybe a couple others that I enjoy just as much. Some people get super into the holiday movies. I don't know if I do, but there are some that I probably do watch almost every holiday season since they came out." One hand played with Bucky's hands, the other kept sweeping Steve's cheek, or neck or tugging softly at the front of his shirt. The stress of the day slowly seeping away. Any tension left in her body was from her stopping herself from moving too fast on them. They were taking it slow, feeling things out, and she didn't want to overstep that. But boy did she want to kiss them both.

As the movie ended, they were all smiling softly. "We could watch another movie if you feel up to it." Steve didn't want to let her go, and the movie had turned out to be sort of sweet and funny, he could certainly see the appeal in it.

"It's maybe too late for another one. I'm going to have to be up to make sure all, well, everyone arrives on time and that everything is ready for the party. I was half tempted to ditch out on the party, but I think Tony expects to see me there, so I'll have to turn up for a bit." Darcy didn't want to go just yet, but another movie seemed too long.

"Oh, please come. I don't really want to go either, but I know I'll enjoy it more if you're there." Bucky wasn't looking forward to the busy party, and he figured Steve might get occupied chatting to people who wanted to meet the man behind Captain America. But, if Darcy was there, Bucky figured he could hang close to her and he'd be pretty happy.

Steve was not at all excited for having to schmooze with the party guests in general. "You'd certainly be a sight for sore eyes if you came. Though I wouldn't blame anyone for ducking out if they have the chance."

"Well, now I don't feel like I can just abandon you guys. Maybe we can have some fun if we're there together." It wasn't quite calling it a date, but the fluttering sensation in her chest said her body wanted it to be something like a date.

"I know tomorrow will be crazy, but," Steve paused, taking a long breath. "But do you have anything Christmas Day?"

"No, my only plan was to sleep in a bit and relax since I hope all the madness will be over by then. I really have enjoyed this holiday, other than stressing out the last few days. If you're asking if we could spend Christmas Day together, I would love that." Darcy tried to squeeze them both the best she could from the position she was in.

"I've enjoyed it too. It wasn't something I'd thought about in a long time. It wasn't something I imagined myself a part of. But you made this whole holiday season special, not just for me, but I think for the whole Compound." Bucky had recalled what Christmas was after he was woken up again. It wasn't really a thing in Wakanda though, and it hardly had seemed important to his mind either. Darcy had made it warm and fun. Something he hoped that they could repeat next year, but with less stress for her.

Darcy had to wipe a small tear away. "Thank you. Maybe my holiday spirit has returned because thinking I've made everyone's holidays a good one makes me feel like all that stress is worth it. Even if the stress is for the party tomorrow, which maybe a lot of people aren't so excited for. But maybe it can be exciting. There should be plenty of good music and food, Tony's made sure of that. And there might be some shaking hands and making small talk with some folks you'd rather avoid, there also are some interesting folks on the guest list. And I, anyway, am happy to spend time with the two of you."

"Christmas can be whatever you want it to be. We could just come here and watch movies, or go out in the snow, or you could even come to our room and hang out if you want." Steve and Bucky shared an apartment space at the compound. Steve felt like it was a big thing to ask, but it was only a bad idea if she thought it was strange to ask that this stage.

"Your room might be nice. I figure it would be quiet and without too much interruption from others." Darcy wanted to curl up with them in a way the seating simply didn't allow, but she sort of tried anyway. Shifting a little, trying to tug them both a little closer.

"It should be, yes. Here we would run the risk of people poking in." Steve chuckled, the only reason they'd been left alone now was because it was late. But in the middle of the day, someone would have poked in. Though perhaps they ought to be taking advantage of this time too. He'd felt her shifting and gave Bucky a look. The seats were sort of a big couch, but also each piece reclined a bit and popped up a footrest.

Darcy giggled when the guys popped the seats back. It wasn't quite like fully laying back, but it did allow them enough shifting that she became fairly fully sandwiched between them. "You guys are warm. Makes a girl hardly want to move."

"Ah, the plan is working." Steve whispered. It was a joke but held truth. They hadn't gone into the room planning to lay back with her, but since it happened, he sure didn't want her to leave too soon. "How much longer do you think we can have you tonight? We want to just be with you, but we also want you to get a good night's sleep and feel ready for tomorrow."

"You're amazing. I think I have a little while longer before I have to make myself go to bed, and I'd like to spend the rest of that here." Darcy found her hands taken with theirs.

"If you have other Christmas movies to show us, we could watch them on Christmas Day. And just lay around, you could even come over in your pajamas if you want." Steve would have watched anything at all if he got to sit next to Darcy while watching it.

"If I came over in my pajamas, would you two be in your pajamas too?" Her gaze fluttered from Steve to Bucky, and occasionally she had to take a deep breath and let her eyes close for a moment just to keep her senses about her.

"That seems only right, right Buck?" Steve's fingers pulled from Darcy's so he could trail them over her cheek and down the side of her face.

"I think so. I wouldn't mind that at all. Depending on how early you want to come over I can make breakfast or brunch or lunch. Or all of them. Dinner if you want to stay for that too." Bucky was happy to cook all damn day if it kept her in their room for the day.

Darcy trembled slightly and both men softly kissed her temple. She wanted to feel both those sets of lips on hers, but she settled for squeezing their arms instead, for the time being. They talked about favorite breakfasts and lunches and dinners, and what other Christmas movies Darcy liked. A couple of them sounded interesting to Steve and Bucky, so it was decided what they'd watch Christmas Day. It was also decided she would come over for brunch around ten. That way she could sleep a little, but they'd still have pancakes and french toast and a great big breakfast. They just had to get through Christmas Eve first.


	7. Mistletoe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the Darcyland Christmas Week 2018. A DARCY LEWIS HOLIDAY CHALLENGE! Hosted by @grimeysociety.
> 
> December 25th, Day 7: Mistletoe 
> 
> Completely Unbetaed, all mess is my own.
> 
> And this last chapter is coming in only about a half hour after the start of Dec 26 where I am anyway, so not too terribly late at least. I hope it flows okay, cause my headspace was definitely a little off the mark for at least the last half of the writing of this part.

The party got going without a hitch. Darcy had been up early, made sure everything came together, and the place looked great. There was mistletoe over every doorway and even dangling from various open spots all around the hanger, just as Tony had wanted.

She was feeling more in the spirit once everything was ready and she went to get dressed. The red dress really popped against her pale skin. There was a bit of cleavage and her hair was mostly loose around her face. Darcy arrived alone, but she didn't stay that way for long. Steve and Bucky arrived in very similar grey suits with red ties and made a beeline for Darcy.

Darcy spotted them right away. Of course, in her opinion, they were hard to miss. “You guys match, it's cute.”

“And I think your dress matches our ties.” Bucky held his tie out close to her dress it was pretty much the same red.

“Just about perfect, I think that means you're stuck with us tonight.” Steve offered his arm, which Darcy readily took.

“Well, I guess I'll just have to live with that.” She giggled and took hold of Bucky's arm as he offered it. Even though she technically knew how she felt like she didn't know how she'd come to be on the arm of two amazing men.

They did get stopped a few times as they circled the place, usually people wanting to talk to Steve, though there were a few people who were rather interested in getting to know Bucky as well. There was a group of historians who kind of pulled in their attention for a while. Steve actually seemed to enjoy talking to them, and while Bucky seemed a bit uncertain at points, he eased into it. Darcy mostly watched them. She wasn't exactly on anyone's list of people to visit with here. It sometimes made for a bit of standing around by herself, but it also meant less awkward conversations with people she didn't know. Fortunately, the appetizers were nearby as well so she got to take advantage of the time to eat.

After the first-hour people seemed to settle in. The drinks started flowing, the music was playing, and then dinner was being served. Darcy had managed to secure herself a seat with Steve and Bucky and made sure their table was all friendly faces since she'd made up the seating arrangements. And just as Tony had said, after the dinner was had, seating arrangements meant nothing. People were drifting around, hitting the dance floor, going through their gift bags, occasionally trading an item for something someone else had. But all in all, Darcy was very happy to see people happy with the gift bags. They had definitely taken some time and thought on her part. She even had one or two folks compliment her on them after they'd heard she was the one responsible for them. That had felt nice for sure.

The guys had just shaken a somewhat dull conversation with a Senator when they ran into Natasha. "How are you guys holding up?"

"Alright. Some slightly awkward encounters, but also a few that were fairly nice." Steve nodded as he spoke and glanced over at Bucky, who simply nodded and shrugged.

"What about you, Darcy?" Natasha took a quick visual sweep around them, always watching everything. Also possibly keeping anyone who wasn't with the Avengers from jumping in at the moment. The full extent of the power of Nat's stare was unknown.

"Oh, I'm good. The food's good. Everyone seems happy with the party. So it seems like the work paid off." Darcy nodded and smiled. She had hold of Bucky's hand while Steve walked close on the other side, but hadn't reached for her since people started popping up at random to talk to them a few hours earlier before dinner. Darcy figured he kind of had his 'Captain America game face' on, so she gave him a little space to do what he needed to do to get through the party. He had kept looking over and smiling at her whenever he could though, and she thought it seemed like when she smiled at him, a little bit of the tension came off his shoulders.

Bucky shifted and dropped his voice a little. "I was kind of thinking dancing might be nice. But nothing too fast or fancy. I haven't danced in a long time, but I could probably manage a little swaying to something mellower."

"With me?" Even though he'd practically leaned into her ear to say it, Darcy somehow needed to check. When he smiled and nodded, she smiled too. "I'd love to. A little sway would be great."

He'd asked as the music mellowed out again, the DJ in the main dance floor area seemed to be varying things periodically throwing in a handful of mellower songs. They only just moved onto the dance floor and swayed near the edge. Bucky nuzzling into her hair a little and holding her close. He was having a fairly good time, but he was also feeling a bit tense with all the small talk and people he didn't know. Getting to pull her in and just feel Darcy close and nothing else soothed his worn nerves. "Thank you. I really needed this."

"Of course. Thank you. This is really nice for me too." Darcy rested her head on his shoulder and they swayed for about a song and a half before returning to where Steve and Natasha stood.

"I think less people will be itching to converse at this point. Everyone has found their groups to chat to or decided to have that extra drink and hit the dance floor." Natasha smiled before moving on.

They did manage to stroll around uninterrupted for quite a while, stopping to look out at the snow or admire the tree. "You did do a great job bring this party together, Darcy. And having you here, smiling at me when I'm feeling tense, it has kept me feeling more at ease here. Thank you." Steve spoke soft and placed a soft kiss on her temple.

"I'm glad this hasn't been too crazy for you. I am pretty happy with how the whole party has turned out, in terms of being one of the people who helped put it together." Darcy's smile was bright and warm as she had both Steve and Bucky close while they hung along the edges of the party.

“Friends!” Thor came up and pulled all three of them into a hug. “These Christmas celebrations are grand. Thank you, Darcy!”

“Oh, this is Tony's party.” Darcy shook her head and smiled. She was glad that it came together and that Thor was enjoying the party.

“Perhaps, but you my dear made it happen, and I can't thank you enough. And I promise you will be handsomely rewarded for all your hard work, and not just by these two.” Tony always seemed to swoop in at just the right moment. Steve, Bucky, and Darcy all flushed a bit but smiled.

“Kiss!” Thor lifted mistletoe right over Darcy. “That's the tradition, yes? It makes sense, mistletoe is a plant of love, at least that's what my mother said.”

“Did you put him up to this, Tony?” Steve wanted to kiss Darcy, and he knew Bucky did too, but with an audience wasn't how he'd wanted their first kiss to be.

“He did not. I'll kiss her first if you want.” Thor grinned. He knew there was something going on with Darcy and Steve and Bucky. He also knew mistletoe kisses were for everyone. "I'll kiss you first if you want too."

Everyone chuckled a little. But Thor simply shifted the mistletoe over his own head and held open an arm. Darcy laughed a little more and shifted to give Thor a little kiss. "Maybe you should go give Jane some of those kisses though."

"Already did. I gave her twelve of them before she told me to go share them around so she could talk to Bruce. And I gave him five kisses before he threatened to have The Hulk kiss me instead. I would have kissed Hulk too, but I think he just wanted me to stop kissing him." Thor shrugged and smiled and held his arm out again.

Steve chuckled and hugged Thor with a little half cheek kiss. Thor still caught him on the lips on the pullback though. It wasn't much more than a peck, but Thor seemed to think kisses ought to be lip on lip to count. Bucky appeared a little shocked when Thor went for him next but smiled after, sort of just happy to be included. Then Thor turned around to Tony.

"Wait, are you kissing me next?" Tony put a dramatic hand to his chest.

"Yes. Thank you for this great party." Thor started to move toward him.

"Wait, I have to prepare myself. I'm getting kissed by a god, right?" Tony took a deep breath and grinned. "Okay, come at me Big Guy!"

When Thor came at Tony arms wide, Tony seemed to just lean into it and there was a reasonably decent smooch and squeeze, after which they both chuckled. "Do any other Midgardian holidays use this?"

"No, but you could probably make it a thing at parties anyway." Tony clapped him on the shoulder before spotting Pepper trying to wave him over to a Senator. "Duty calls. Everyone, please, have fun though. I know everyone wasn't super down for this shindig, but I hope everyone is having fun now and will have fun for the rest of the night."

As Tony weaved his way into the crowd, Thor pulled another sprig of mistletoe out of his coat and handed it to Darcy. "Here, make some good use of that." He kissed her again and moved onto Maria, Rhodey, and Clint, who were chatting nearby.

Darcy laughed, looking back at Steve and Bucky and wiggling the mistletoe a little. "I guess they're trying to tell us something."

Steve shifted a bit, scratching his neck. "I do want to kiss you. Sometime. Soon. Just maybe not in the middle of all this. At least not for the first time." He supposed he could have given her a little kiss like Thor had done to them all. But he also kind of knew when his lips finally touched hers, he wanted it to be for more than just a brief moment. He wanted to savor it.

"Fair enough. I kind of agree, there's a lot of chaos here. I can probably find a good spot for this so if Thor asks, I can say I made good use of it." Darcy wiggled the sprig in her hand a little more and glanced around the space. She'd put mistletoe up in most of the major doorways, and open spaces that seemed opportune for a little kiss, even outside over the 'patio area' they'd created for the party, but there were still a few unadorned spots. 

"Can we take it someplace less busy?" Bucky had shifted in close to her and lowered his voice. He was actually hovering very close, like the toe of his shoe had bumped up against the heel of hers, yet he wasn't actually touching her. He had his hands buried in his pockets to try to keep himself from simply wrapping around her and kissing her then and there. 

Steve was still standing back a step or two. Darcy wasn't sure if he was worried about getting too close with mistletoe around. The energy coming off Bucky had her mind feeling a little fuzzy. "I can probably get one after the party. There's plenty that are hanging too high up for most to grab them. I could maybe bring it over with me tomorrow if you guys want. But we don't have to. There might be some around for New Years also. Mistletoe might be a Christmas tradition, but everyone doesn't have to follow all the traditions. It's okay to walk under them or even stand under them and not do anything." Darcy didn't want to rush the matter. She would prefer quiet when she got to really kiss them for the first time, but it also didn't need to be tonight, or tomorrow, or any particular day, other than whatever day they felt ready for it.

"I want to, I really do." Steve's voice was soft. He caught her eyes a moment before he scanned the room for probably the fifth time in as many minutes.

"I know. I get it. It's okay." Darcy's smile was something between soft and holding something back. She didn't want Steve to worry about it, Bucky standing so close was all kinds of distracting at the same time.

He and Bucky were usually on the same page. They still kind of were. Steve could just tell Bucky's feelings were seeping through a little stronger. Steve wanted to be someplace else and kiss her just as much, he just thought he had a sort of responsibility to stay at the party, at least until the first guests started to leave. Then he'd feel like it was acceptable to leave. "You could even just hang onto the mistletoe, maybe? I like the idea. And if this wouldn't be the first real kiss, I would have kissed you under Thor's mistletoe. I just..."

"Steve, it's okay." Darcy held out her free hand and he reached out to take it, then stepped in close, giving her hand a gentle but firm squeeze. "The party will thin out eventually, and then we can find some mistletoe and either kiss under it if there's few enough people around, and if not, we can take it with us." 

Steve kissed her head briefly, Bucky followed and lingered a little more, before they drifted back into the party. While Steve got roped into another conversation with a guest, Darcy found a place to leave the sprig she was carrying around. As Tony's parties often did, it went into the night, but finally did dissipate. Folks started filtering off home, or to wherever they planned to stay the night. Few lingered, largely near the front of the hanger and the patio area, which was actually the landing deck, in front of it.

Steve exchanged glances with Bucky before grabbing Darcy's hand and pulling her toward the back of the hanger. There were a few people milling around, starting to clean up, but no one was really paying attention, it was too late and folks were getting tired. He stopped them near the back, near a doorway to the bathrooms and the upstairs.

Darcy wondered if they were headed for some quiet mistletoe, and when they stopped, it was confirmed. She giggled softly and looked up at them both. There wasn't anyone in her line of sight, they finally had mistletoe and some privacy. She pointed up. "Mistletoe."

"Mistletoe." Bucky smiled and shifted as Steve let go of her hand for the moment.

She supposed that was how they let her know who was kissing her first. Bucky leaned in a little, but not all the way, not until she leaned toward him too. His flesh hand cradled her head while the other gripped her hip and he pulled her in. Darcy's lips moved soft and slow with his. He took his time, but his passion seeped through, pulling the kiss deeper. Lips pressed, tongues teased before she had to pull back for air. Though her hands clung to him, kept him close.

Bucky wasn't about to let go of her until she let go of him. When after she took a few breaths, she leaned and rolled a soft kiss over his lips, he couldn't stop the smile. He'd lost himself in kissing her, she'd had to catch her breath, but that little kiss after, that felt like a promise of more to come. When she finally shifted her gaze to Steve, Bucky loosened his hold and let Steve take over.

Steve hoped Darcy didn't mind being handed off in a way. He caught her eyes and smiled. He'd watched Bucky kiss her breathless, and wanted to make sure she really caught her breath. It was close, but not quite, but maybe she was as calm as she was going to get, maybe that was just how much anticipation she had. That she had that for him probably stepped his pulse up a bit too. But he planned to kiss her breathless too. His arms had circled her, and hers had curled around him. Their lips inched closer until his nose brushed hers, and then their lips were on each other. Warm and soft, pressing firm, but lingering, lips drawing back slow before pressing forth again.

Darcy pulled back from Steve as breathless as she had from Bucky. She wasn't completely sure what she was getting into with them, but she liked it. "I don't think I've ever been so thoroughly kissed in my life."

"We can go easier, I'-" Steve didn't get to finish as she started shaking her head.

"No. That's okay. I like it. As long as you guys don't mind little pauses here and there for me to catch my breath sometimes." Darcy giggled softly, one hand brushing softly at Steve's cheek as the other reached out and pulled Bucky in closer.

"Pause all you want. As long as you want to keep going in the long run, we can take all the breaks that you want." Bucky sank his hand into her hair, cradling her head again.

"And by the long run, we mean like of a relationship." Steve could feel his nerves dancing inside and it had his tongue feeling like it was twisting around a bit as he tried to properly say what he was thinking and feeling.

"I'd like a long run. I might need to pause occasionally during the kissing, but that's all. As long as that's okay. And if you need to pace something for whatever reasons, that's okay too." They were very strong men, but she'd learned enough to catch some of their insecurities or things they thought were weaknesses. Darcy had been slowly falling for them both from the moment she met them, little by little. So she was happy to keep going forward little by little.

"I feel like I don't care now who watches us kiss. I just wanted this kiss, this first one, to be just for us, not subject to an audience." Steve brushed at her cheek and ran his fingers through her hair on the other side of her head.

"I think that was a good idea. I think feeling like people were watching might have made me self-conscious about it. " The both of them touching her hair and her head had her scalp tingling. So much it couldn't be contained to her head. The sensation rushed through the rest of her body.

"Hey, guys." Bucky had glanced up to see one of the clocks on the wall. "Merry Christmas."

Before Darcy could say Merry Christmas, both Steve and Bucky had managed to descend their lips upon hers. If she'd tried to think about how it worked beforehand, she didn't think she could have figured it out, but somehow they did while they kissed her. They were just so in tune with each other, it was amazing and slightly intimidating. Any momentary thought of unworthiness was blurred away as she had to catch her breath and she opened her eyes to them both staring at her. She barely had words, or the breath to say them. But she managed to get out a, "Wow!"

"You were going to come over for Christmas, right?" Steve didn't want to let her go now.

"Finally! Mistletoe kiss! About time!" Clint hollered at them as he and Natasha shuffled out the back of the building. Natasha just grinned but was pretty sure even Clint's shout had been fairly unnoticed by the three of them.

Darcy was definitely oblivious to anyone other than the two men in front of her. Her head nodded and she managed another breathy one-word reply. "Right."

"It's Christmas now. You could come over if you want. If it's not too fast. Or too weird or too much. " Steve figured if need be, he and Bucky could bunk up in one room and Darcy could have the other room and bed to herself.

"We have two bedrooms and two beds. So you can have a whole room to sleep." Bucky had jumped on to Steve's comment as soon as his voice stopped.

Darcy smiled, running a hand down each of their cheeks. "I suppose I could come over since it's Christmas now. And we can maybe just see how we fall asleep. Whatever is comfortable. I trust you guys."

Their lips were on hers again for a moment or two before they finally collected themselves enough to actually head back to their room.


End file.
